Phoenix Corrupted
by iamneverwhere
Summary: A chance meeting and Albus and Gellert would become inseparable friends, until the death of Albus' sister. But what if Ariana had survived? Almost a century later, a boy named Harry Potter would survive the Killing Curse, finally bringing an end to Grindelwald's war. Now, as he finds a place for himself at Hogwarts, there are signs that suggest that the war might not truly be over.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 **Choices**

Ariana was shaking, as she stood behind a door, listening to her brothers argue. Again.

"Albus! Don't think for a moment that I'll let you go though with your foolish plans! You promised Ariana-"

She flinched as she heard her name and took a step back. Her brothers, Albus and Aberforth, had been arguing a lot recently, but never about her. Not in front of her anyway. Don't panic, don't panic, she tried desperately to remember what Ab told her to do when she was scared, but she couldn't think properly. Sometimes just imagining her favourite brother talking to her would be enough to make her better, but hearing him shout her name like that, with so much anger, had broken down whatever calm she had and left her mind open to terrible memories. Her father's arrest. Her mother's death. Muggles.

"-ake her with you, wherever it is you're planning to go, making your clever little speeches trying to whip yourselves up a following!"

There was a loud roar of anger and Ariana fell to her knees.

"You STUPID boy! Stupid little fool! Don't you understand! We are doing this for her, so that she do-"

Ariana was shaking so much she was surprised that they couldn't hear her hiding behind the door. She hated Albus' new friend from the moment they met. She didn't get many chances to meet and talk to new people since moving to Godric's Hollow, so she was excited, so excited that even Aberforth's hesitation about the meeting faltered. He was tall and handsome and smiled at her, but it didn't feel right.

Even since the Muggle boys attacked her, the one part of her magic she could rely on was being able to sense vague thoughts and emotions around her. Aberforth always felt nothing but love, and occasionally a little worry for her. Albus loved her as well, but she knew he also felt pity and frustration towards her. What she felt from Gellert was so unfamiliar that it took a while to understand. There was no pity or fear, obviously no love, but no loathing either, as some witches and wizards felt towards the Dumbledore's squib child. She then followed his eyes that moved towards her brother even while he was talking to her. Then she understood. This boy wanted something from her brother, and he was going to use her to get it from him. She couldn't tell Albus what she felt then, but as soon as she could she went to Ab and told him what she felt. That was this morning.

" _Crucio_!" Ariana jerked her head up and tears started flowing as she heard her brother screaming in pain.

"Gellert, stop!"

There was more shouting and then several loud bangs. Ariana tried to struggle onto her shaking legs. It was her fault, she should never have told Ab, they already argued so much, she should have just kept quiet. She gripped the door tightly, it was her fault, she had to stop them.

She opened the door to three young wizards sending spells at each other in a mad frenzy. Windows were cracked and furniture lay broken around their feet and Ariana stood rooted on the spot, helpless and unable to do anything. Her brothers hadn't noticed her yet, but her eyes met Gellert's and she felt it again, a wild determination. His eyes quickly found Aberforth and after deflecting a spell directed at him, he waved his wand, quick as lightning and shot a jet of red light, striking Aberforth in the chest stunning him instantly.

Whatever glued Ariana's foot to the floor disappeared at that moment and she was wailing and running towards her fallen brother.

"He's just stunned Albus, just stunned!" Gellert Grindelwald said quickly.

Ariana was crying so hard now, she felt like she couldn't breathe. She lifted her brother's head and tried to wake him up.

"How could you Gellert, how-" Albus glared at his friend, his wand still raised.

"He drew his wand first! I had to defend myself." Gellert said, with no hint of remorse.

Ariana felt someone walk behind her and lay a hand just above her brother's mouth. She heard a sigh of relief.

"He's going to be fine Ariana." The voice then hardened. "The Cruciatus curse, Gellert? On my brother?"

"I'm sorry. I was angry, I'm sorry Albus." he wasn't, Ariana thought. He wasn't sorry at all.

Ariana took a deep breath and chanced a look up at Albus and his friend. Al wouldn't lie to her, if he said Ab was going to be fine, she believed him. Albus held his wand firmly at Gellert, who had his wand pointing at the ground, away from the three Dumbledores, but his eyes remained unwavering, holding onto Albus' gaze.

"Albus." Gellert hesitated for a moment, then spoke again. "Where we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counterarguments."

"For the greater good." muttered the young wizard, briefly glancing at his unconscious brother.

Gellert's eyes flashed and he continued his attack. "This is your first and perhaps greatest opposition Albus, a trial you must overcome. You and me together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. On the battlefield, back to back, we can out-dual any and survive innumerable odds. In the great halls of our people, side-by-side, we can let out convictions be heard, and lead them down the right path. But this, this is your trial, a choice you must make. Stay here and be content looking after your family, or come with me, for them and so many others, and give them more than they could ever hope for. A world your sister doesn't have to shy away from, a world she can join..."

There was a long silence. Ariana had stopped crying, and was staring at the back of Albus' head, and repeated the words, 'please don't go', over and over again in her mind, but she couldn't make a noise. This was important, she could tell, a moment that would change everything beyond, and Gellert was right, this was a moment where only one young wizard had the right to decide. Albus Dumbledore took a deep breath.

"I... I can't leave her here with Aberforth, they're too young, and we cannot take them, he would never agree after you... Not after what happened here, and he still has school, and we can't separate them, Ariana couldn't..." Albus glanced back at her sister and was taken aback at her intent stare. He was about to speak again when he was interrupted by his friend.

"Albus Dumbledore, do you trust me?" Gellert asked quietly.

Breaking eye contact with his sister, he turned again to his friend and repeated the question in his head. A sad smile formed on his lips. "Yes. Gellert Grindelwald, I trust you."

"I promise I will not hurt them, just make them... remember things slightly differently." Albus took in a sharp breath and held it for a moment. He sighed and nodded. Gellert nodded back and turned his head towards Ariana. She started to panic again, and was about to open her mouth, beg her brother to stop this, to stay here together-

" _Permutatum Memor_."

* * *

Bathilda Bagshot was busy in the kitchen, making some cauldron cakes for her nephew Gellert, well great-nephew if you wanted to be completely accurate, but that just made her sound so incredibly old. She glanced at the clock, he wouldn't be back for a few hours, he said the Dumbledores were inviting him over for dinner. She shook her head and tutted, those poor children, she thought, having to go through all that misery at their age, especially that young Ariana. The villagers thought her a squib, and Bathilda had also believed this before she actually got to know the family.

They were an unsocial sort and any attempts by her to befriend the new arrivals to Godric's Hollow were met only with doors slamming in her face. It was only when she read an article on trans-species transfiguration, by the eldest son Albus Dumbledore, that she managed to actually exchange two words with her neighbours. She send an owl to the Hogwarts student, which eventually turned into a sort of friendship between her and the whole Dumbledore clan. She had not been exactly close to the mother, Kendra, but she could positively say that there was no one in the village that knew her better, other than her own children.

Kendra was a formidable woman, proud and sharp eyed, despite the rumours concerning her husband and daughter. Bathilda had once seen Kendra and her daughter walking around her back yard in the middle of the night. When she mentioned this to Kendra, her cheeks paled a little and she crisply told Bathilda that her daughter was unwell and left it at that. Bathilda herself had no prejudices against squibs, but her social circles had included those that would relentlessly mock and jeer not only squibs, but Muggles, half-bloods, and 'less intelligent' magical creatures (she scoffed at this, if history had shown anything it was that some of these magical creatures could easily outsmart wizards and witches, in various bloody and violent ways. Perhaps if she were to write a book about this, people would be better informed.).

These people were all different, in terms of societal positions, wizarding powers and family backgrounds, but there was something, she couldn't quite explain in words, that these people had in common, and this one thing she had never seen in Kendra Dumbledore. There was also the fact that in the brief conversation about Ariana, when Kendra said her name, Bathilda could hear in her voice, a strong maternal love for her daughter. Even if she really was a squib, Kendra would not hide her away from all prying eyes and only let her out for midnight walks. That was what Bathilda thought anyway. She sighed, perhaps Gellert would get a chance to meet Ariana and maybe find out the truth. If they only asked for help she would be more than willing to give it to them.

Suddenly she heard a loud noise coming from outside, an explosion if she had to guess. She picked up her wand and rushed to the front door. Stepping outside, she saw several villagers already out, pointing towards a column of smoke rising a few houses away. That could be the Dumbledore house, she thought to herself. She quickly tapped the door with the wand, locking it, and started walking briskly towards the smoke. Had her nephew done something? She had been told of his expulsion from Durmstrang, and the reasons behind it, but she had always thought it was an exaggeration of the truth. If she had really thought he could be capable of the ruthlessness and cruelty his school had accused him with, she would never have allowed him to stay with her and she certainly would not have introduced him to Albus Dumbledore.

By the time she reached the house, the flames had already started to die down, but a large crowd had gathered in front. Mostly Muggles but she recognised a few witches and wizards amongst the crowd. She looked around carefully and reached into the pocket where she had placed her wand, she had to find out if there was anyone still in there. As she gripped her wand tightly, someone suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned quickly. It was a neighbour, an old witch with whom she was quite friendly with.

"Bathilda, keep your wand hidden. I already tried the detection charm, I couldn't sense anyone." blood drained from Bathilda's face at these words.

"Dead? They're all dead?" she moaned quietly.

"We don't know. They might have left before the explosion, although no one has seen anything. We've been around back to see if anyone managed to escape though there, but we can't seem to find anything. Someone said they saw your nephew with the Dumbledore boy earlier today, have they been by?"

"No... Gellert said they invited him for dinner." she looked at the broken house, small flames still clinging onto some parts and then looked at the buildings on either side. Nothing. No fire spreading, and no damage from the explosion. Whatever this was, it was definitely done with magic.

Bathilda turned to her friend, biting her lower lip.

"I'm going back home. If they managed to get out, Gellert might bring them there. I'll need to be there to make sure no one is hurt." before waiting for a reply Bathilda Bagshot turned and hurried back to her house. As she approached her home she quickly glanced around, everyone was still staring and discussing the explosion that happened moments ago. She produced her wand and with a quick jab, unlocked and opened the door and hurried inside. She heard a noise and called out, the reply was instant.

"Aunt Bathilda! We're in the kitchen, please hurry!" she ran through her house, wand out and ready. In the kitchen she hesitated only for a moment before rushing towards Aberforth.

"Merlin's Beard, what happened to the four of you? Is Ariana alright?" she glanced quickly at the unconscious girl while moving her wand slowly over the burns covering Aberforth's face. His eyes were closed, but he was still breathing, he was alive.

"Ariana is fine, Madam Bagshot, she just..." Albus glanced at Gellert as if unsure of what to say. Both the boys seem to have scorch mark on their clothes and small burns on their skin, but they would be fine for the moment.

"Gellert, the burn paste, quickly. Albus, please, tell me the truth so I can help you." she stared into his eyes until Gellert returned with the jar, which he opened and handed to his great aunt. Gellert then took his place next to Albus and nodded, encouraging his friend to speak. Albus sighed and the words poured out.

"Madam Bagshot, Ariana... Ariana was never a squib. That was just a rumour our mother tried to spread to hide the truth." one of her hands were spreading the orange paste onto Aberforth's face while the other, holding her wand, carefully removed the scorched robes from his upper body to reveal more burns. She didn't take her eyes off her patient but nodded and told Albus to continue.

"Ariana was... attacked, by Muggles, when they saw her using magic. This was why our father went to Azkaban, not because he held a belief of superiority over others, but because they attacked his six year old daughter." Bathilda looked up at this point and saw, Albus holding onto her sister, and believed everything that he was saying. She was beginning to understand.

"After the attack, Ariana... she became unstable, magically, I mean. When she became distressed or emotional, she would lash out with accidental magic. My parents realised that if the Ministry ever found out, she would be considered a violation of the Statute of Secrecy and be forced away to somewhere like St. Mungo's." Albus looked at his sister, carefully stroking her hair.

Bathilda stood up, she had done the best she could for Aberforth. She handed the burn healing paste to Gellert, telling him to use some on himself, then kneeled next to Albus and Ariana and carefully traced her wand above Ariana's head and body.

"So... Kendra's death?" at Bathilda's question, Albus closed his eyes and took in a long breath.

"Yes. Accidental magic. It wasn't her fault." he whispered. Bathilda shook her head in pity. No, it wasn't her fault, she agreed. Ariana seemed fine. No burns or other physical injuries. If she had indeed been the source of the magic, it was unlikely that she would have been affected, unless someone were to deflect it back towards her and she new these boys would never do that, not even to protect themselves. She was thinking very quickly now, her desire to help this family struck by tragedy had not diminished, but she wasn't sure what she could do. Kendra's death was a tragedy and there had certainly been questions surrounding the incident, but it had been one person and with a story backed by all her children, the Ministry never looked too much into it, allowing Kendra to take the blame for the accident. But now, a whole house destroyed, in front of Muggles no less, with no damage spreading an inch outside the property, they were bound to be suspicions. If someone had not already sent an owl to the Ministry of Magic, it was only a matter of time and then, Albus was right, they would take her and keep her there until the day she died.

"Aunt Bathilda, we need to leave." she just stared at her nephew, so he continued. "Albus is right, when they come they'll be here for Ariana, we can't let them take her away."

"Where... where will you go?" she bit let lower lip and looked at the four in her kitchen. The oldest amongst them was Albus, only eighteen. "What will you do?"

"Just get away from here for now and keep Ariana safe." Albus spoke up. He looked towards his brother, lying still and covered in a thick orange paste. "Madam Bagshot, could you look after Aberforth please? He only has a few more years at Hogwarts and I promise to send some money when we reach London, and more whenever we can. Even if he could come with us with those injuries, I would like to see him complete his education."

Bathilda looked at her nephew and his friend, their eyes unflinching while she tired to see if they would back down. She knew if anyone could look after Ariana it would be these two. Despite certain misgivings others had towards her nephew, these two boys had already surpassed their peers in many ways. She almost wanted to tell them to give Ariana up and let the healers take care of her, so that they could achieve greatness wherever they desired. But she knew better than to say it out loud, she could imagine the disappointment in their eyes if she even suggested it. No. They were still young and brilliant. They would overcome this trial and whatever else was thrown at them, and their names would eventually become known to the whole wizarding world. They still have time.

She made up her mind. "Gellert, go to your room and pack whatever you feel you should take. Quickly now." her nephew nodded and quickly left the kitchen. She told the other boy to stay and moved quickly to her room, where she removed a small pouch from a hidden compartment in her desk, with all the Galleons she could spare. She looked around her room trying to think of anything else that might help them, but just shook her head slightly and returned.

"Albus, here take this. All the money I can spare at the moment." Gellert ran in with his trunk ready to leave. Albus opened his mouth ready to argue with her, but she interrupted him. "No take it and don't argue, we don't have time. You don't need to send any money, I have enough to take care of myself and your brother, more than enough. Spend this and whatever else you have, looking after yourselves and your sister. Go to London, but don't visit Gringotts, just get whatever you think is essential and then move on to somewhere you won't draw much attention. I'll try and owl you when things have settled down a bit, but until then try to stay hidden."

Albus stared at her almost as if he wanted to say something and Gellert tensed slightly. Albus then just lowered his head and said a quiet thank you.

"You're welcome Albus. Now go. The floo powder is by the fireplace, Gellert you first." As Gellert Grindelwald vanished through the green flames that appeared in the fireplace, Albus Dumbledore, stood up and tried to hold his sister as physically close to him as possible. He grabbed a handful of the green powder and took a moment to look back towards his brother. He wasn't sure when they would see each other again. Even though they had never been that close, they still loved each other and to leave like this... Both his parents had given their lives for his sister and he tried to convince himself that they would understand, and agree with his decision to leave his brother behind. He tried not to even think about the Memory Charm they performed or the injuries inflicted on him when they blew up the house.

"Madam Bagshot, I'll find a way to help Ariana control her magic and I'll be back. Tell my brother that will you?" Albus Dumbledore's eyes were almost regretful.

Bathilda quickly reassured him. "I will make sure to tell him. If anyone can find a way it's you and Gellert."

"Thank you." Albus said sincerely to the kind old witch. The he turned slightly to his unconscious brother and whispered, "Forgive me Aberforth…"

He threw the floo powder into the fireplace and as the green flames rose wildly he spoke clearly, "Diagon Alley" and without looking back, holding his sister tightly, he stepped into the flames.


	2. Year 1 - Chapter 1

**Year 1**

 **Chapter 1**

 **From Houses to Home**

Harry James Potter of number four Privet Drive was currently sitting on his bed, reading several books with the enthusiasm of someone who had been introduced with the concept of the written word for the very first time. He had of course, being an eleven year old boy, read books before but those that were currently covering his sheets were like nothing he could have even imagined a week ago. He put down the thick volume he had just been reading with the title ' _A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration_ ' and picked up another one, ' _A History of Magic_ '.

He opened a random page and began skimming through, looking for something, while occasionally stifling a yawn. He was exhausted. He had just spent the day travelling to London, with the biggest man he had ever seen (too big to be allowed, Harry had thought briefly), buying uniforms, books and everything else that he needed to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The giant man was named Rubeus Hagrid, a professor at the school, and arrived exactly at midnight to a miserable little hut in the middle of the ocean where Harry's adoptive family had tried escaping to. That was when Harry Potter found out that he was a wizard. His uncle, who up until this point had kept his mouth firmly shut, seemed then to find his courage and stood up to Hagrid (stood up to around his waist), and started shouting that Harry Potter would never go and learn 'magic tricks'. Hagrid just glared at him for a moment before removing a cricket bat shaped (and sized) wand from one of his many pockets and unceremoniously turned Mr Vernon Dursley into a pig.

"Burdock?" Harry muttered, while eyeing the corner of his room, where a beautiful snowy owl was sleeping in her cage. Harry shook his head, no definitely not.

After turning the pig back to Harry's uncle, Hagrid muttered a half-hearted apology and shooed the Dursleys into the other room. They talked while enjoying some sausages Hagrid had brought and cooked, before settling down for the night, they needed to wake up early to go to London tomorrow.

Harry had been quite terrified of the huge man on their way to London, as had been most of the people who had been unfortunate enough to pass them by. It wasn't just his sheer size or the vast quantities of untamed hair that terrified them, if that was all there was Harry was sure it would have just intrigued him, given all that he learnt last night. It was a huge scar that started from his forehead and crossed his nose and mouth all the way to his chin that gave him such a savage look, enough to scare a dear old lady into running for her life at the sight of him. However, by the time they reached their first tube station Harry found out that he had absolutely nothing to be scared of, he was the very definition of a gentle giant.

Harry spent the journey on the tube relentlessly questioning Hagrid about the wizarding world. Amongst other things, he learnt the truth about his parents' death, the word 'Muggle' and how the giant had gotten the hideous scar on his face.

He didn't mean to ask, but the question slipped out and he was just about to apologise when Hagrid beard shifted into what he realised was a huge grin.

"Oh this," he was clearly eager to talk about it, "got this from an ol' dragon I raised from a babe."

Harry was rather alarmed to find that dragons existed, but before he could get any more questions out, he was forced to listen to Hagrid reminiscing about his old favourite pet until they reached their destination. He had apparently managed to get special permission to try and raise a dragon near the school a few years ago, but was forced to send him away to Romania when he grew a little too big to handle. The scar had been a nasty parting gift.

Harry jerked awake. He wiped a bit of drool off his face and picked up the book he dropped. He just felt he needed to do this one thing before he went to sleep.

"Elfric? No, that doesn't sound right either." Harry murmured to himself, shifting his body on the bed.

London had been... well, he could only describe it as magical. Diagon Alley was where wizards and witches from all over Britain, and even some from abroad, came to do their shopping. Books, cauldrons, goblins, broomsticks and everything in between, Harry tried to take in everything at once while Hagrid gently tried to hurry him along, first towards the wizarding bank Gringotts. They managed to get everything without much trouble, apart from meeting a blond haired boy while shopping for robes, who Harry thought was quite rude and the occasional passer by that seemed to want to thank Harry for his deeds as a baby.

The shopping trip ended when Hagrid bought him a birthday present, the lovely snowy owl and finally what Harry had been looking forward to the most, a magic wand (eleven and a half inch, cypress with unicorn hair). They then returned to four Privet Drive, where Hagrid 'convinced' the Dursleys to treat Harry better and drive him to King's Cross on the first of September. They nodded dumbly and gave Harry a wide berth, while to carried all his new belongings into the spare room. Dudley had not complained once that the room he used to keep his toys in was going to be used by Harry, he merely whimpered and scuttled away when Harry glanced at him. In fact, the Dursleys wouldn't speak a single word to him, they seemed to be as scared of Harry as much as they had been of Hagrid, since they didn't know what he could do now that he found out his true heritage. He didn't mind though, he went up to his room and eagerly started delving into his new acquisitions.

It was already past midnight and Harry definitely needed to get some sleep, but what kept him awake wasn't just his desire to look through and find out everything he could about this new world he was about to join. He was terrified that if he went to sleep now, he would wake up in the cupboard under the stairs, and everything that happened the last few days would turn out to be a wonderful and horrible dream. He finally managed to convince himself, that is he could find a name for his best ever birthday present, it would prove everything that happened was real, as long as he had his owl, everything would be fine. To be completely honest, he didn't really like birds that much, but he soon found out magical pets were so much more than just animals. They were useful and smart, even able to understand their owners and respond to their words. It also helped that the snowy owl was absolutely gorgeous, she had easily been the best looking owl in the shop.

"Hedwig..." Harry whispered, to which the dozing owl opened one eye and hooted sleepily. Harry smiled, "Hedwig it is then."

He closed the book and dropped it, and the others he'd been reading, onto the floor as quietly as possible. He placed his glasses on a table by his side, rolled over and finally went to sleep.

* * *

Harry's aunt, uncle and cousin didn't change their attitude towards him the next few weeks, which was how he imagined they would treat a rabid badger living in their home. They were all avoiding him and still hadn't spoken a word to him since his birthday. Harry was also keen on keeping his distance since the look his uncle gave him every time they were in the same room suggested he was seconds away from physically grabbing and throwing him out the door, warnings from giant dragon tamers be damned.

He tried to sneak in some food to his room every morning before the Dursleys were awake and apart from necessary bodily functions, stayed inside his room. On the final day of August, he decided he needed to remind his uncle of his 'promise' to Hagrid to take him to the station.

"Um... Uncle Vernon?" Harry coughed nervously, as Vernon Dursley jumped up from the sofa and faced him, fist raised in defence, but still not saying anything. "You promi- You said you would drive me to London tomorrow? To the station?"

His uncle's face went pale, red, purple then pale again and Harry could imagine what thoughts were going through his head. There was silence for almost a minute, then his uncle spoke to him for the first time in over four weeks.

"King's Cross?" Harry nodded quickly. "And I wont see you until next summer? Fine, I'll take you, but that... that... that 'man' better not show his face around here ever again!"

Harry left his uncle before he could change his mind. He had already packed most of his stuff days earlier, but nervously started taking everything out of his trunk and repacking everything that evening. He forced down a slice of bread with a bit of ham, even though he didn't feed very hungry, then gave Hedwig some owl treats before checking his alarm clock and climbing into bed. It took him almost three hours before he finally fell asleep. The moment his alarm rang, he jumped up and started to make sure he had everything ready.

He packed everything into his uncle's car and the made their way once again in complete silence. Petunia had seen them off but she also hadn't said a word to Harry, she just looked at her husband with teary eyes, as if this would be the last time she would ever see him. Dudley had flat out refused to leave his room until Harry was gone. When they finally reached King's Cross, his uncle waited silently in his seat without turning the engine off, while Harry found a trolley and pulled his luggage onto it. When he had everything loaded, he turned to say goodbye to his uncle, but Vernon Dursley was already stepping on the accelerator and left before Harry could open his mouth.

Harry was honestly just glad his uncle didn't leave as soon as he got out of the car, without giving him a chance to get his stuff out, so he didn't really mind this bit of rudeness and quickly made his way through the crowd into the station. He jumped slightly when a group of flocking pigeons decided it would be a great idea to fly over him and cause him to nearly crash his trolley. People were starting to stare at him, or rather at Hedwig, who squawked at him for losing control. He was nearing the place where he thought his platform should be and his heart started beating faster. He really wished he looked more closely at his ticket before saying goodbye to Hagrid on his birthday, so he could have asked him how on earth he was supposed to find a platform nine and three-quarters.

His attempts to ask one of the people working at the station for help had failed rather quickly and he started to really panic as there was only ten minutes until the train would leave. Harry considered shouting out load, asking if anyone knew how to get on the train to Hogwarts, but thankfully he heard something that instantly removed the panicked thought from his head. Harry had heard the word 'Muggles'. He turned his head too quickly, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, but he ignored it and started following a family, a plump lady leading a group of four boys and one girl, all with flaming red hair. They also had an owl.

He stayed close behind listening for any clues on how to enter the platform, but only managed to find out some of their names, Ginny, Percy, Fred and George. He kept his eyes open in case he missed anything, but as soon as the fourth red-head, one of twins apparently, seemed to vanish into thin air, he cleared his throat nervously and walked up to the remaining boy and his mother.

"Excuse me, I'm really sorry, I don't... Could you tell me how to get onto the platform?" Harry had rushed the words out so quickly he was about to repeat himself.

"Oh. Of course dear. First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new too." she smiled at him kindly and nodded towards her son, who was slightly taller than Harry, freckled and was looking at him curiously.

"Alright dear, you just need to..." Harry looked at the barrier between the ninth and tenth platform she was indicating. It looked very solid. She gave him an encouraging smile and nodded at him to go through. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes and ran towards the barrier. When he opened them again, he was on platform nine and three quarters, staring at the Hogwarts Express.

He quickly moved through the crowd, the train would be leaving soon, and found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He was struggling to lift his luggage onto the train when one of the red headed twins came over.

"Need some help?" Harry nodded, and the boy called his brother over and the three of them managed to move his trunk onto the compartment. He then pushed the empty trolley towards the end of the platform away from the train and turned back to Harry just as he was wiping sweat from his brows.

"Hey is that..?" his twin followed his gaze and both their eyes were locked onto Harry's forehead, staring at his scar.

"Blimey..."

"Are you?"

"Harry Potter?" They asked together.

"Oh. Yes I am." Harry blushed slightly, he had hoped that people at his school wouldn't treat him the same way as the people who he met at Diagon Alley, wanting to shake his hand and thank him for something he couldn't even remember doing.

"George? Fred? Are you there?" their mother's voice came from the platform.

Harry gave a silent thanks to the kindly witch and sat down on one of the seats as the twins left to say goodbye to their family. He could tell they were a very nice family and meant absolutely no harm when they asked, but he wasn't used to getting this much attention, he wasn't really used to getting any attention at all, most people tended to ignore him. The red haired children and their mother had gathered on the platform close enough for Harry to overhear them, which was unfortunate since the topic of conversation soon moved onto the black haired boy with the scar on his forehead.

Harry slouched down his seat so any stray glances towards his compartment would only reveal his messy hair and not a red cheeked 'boy who lived'. He was glad he did this when he heard the little girl (Ginny was it?) asking to come onto the train to see him, he was sure the question would be accompanied by an eager attempt to locate him through the windows. He was once again thankful to their mother when she sternly forbade all her children ask him anything of the fateful day he received his scar.

There was a long whistle and the family quickly said their goodbyes and reassurance to the youngest sibling that they would send loads of owls from school. Harry straightened his back and saw the witch waving at her sons and the little girl crying and laughing while trying to run after the accelerating train. He had a sad smile on his face as he felt a strong pang of jealousy as he remembered his own trip to the station, this was what families were supposed to be like.

He tried to banish these thoughts just as the door opened and the youngest red haired boy came in and asked if he could sit in the compartment. Harry nodded his head and the boy sat across from him, briefly looking towards Harry's forehead, before turning to the window, remembering his mother's words. There was an awkward silence. Harry wanted nothing more than to open his mouth and start talking to the boy sitting opposite him, he honestly found the first wizarding family he'd seen as fascinating as they found him.

Even at school, he had never been close to anyone his age, his cousin Dudley wouldn't allow it, and he had no idea how you went around 'making friends'. He found this situation as terrifying, if not more, as his first encounter with the giant scarred professor. His heart started beating faster as he was working up the courage just to introduce himself, when the doors opened again making Harry jump slightly in his seat.

The twins were back, and Harry was slightly annoyed with them for about a second, until they introduced themselves with such ease.

"This is Fred."

"And he's George." they said, pointing at each other.

"This is our brother Ron." they both pointed at Ron. "Weasley. Fred, George and Ron Weasley."

They turned to their brother and mentioned someone named Lee Jordan with a giant tarantula (Harry thought Ron went a little pale at this information), and said goodbye.

"You're Harry Potter? THE Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.

"Yeah I am." Harry pulled his hair back, showing his scar. Talking seemed a lot easier now. "I don't remember much about it though."

"Nothing at all?" Ron asked, having completely forgotten his mother's words.

"Nothing. Well, I think I remember a lot of green light, but I'm not too sure if that actually happened. I was only a baby after all." Harry offered.

Ron blushed slightly at this, his mother's warning suddenly in his head, and quickly muttered an apology then turned again facing out the window. Harry winced, he was just trying to be honest and hadn't intended this reaction. He quickly tried to get the conversation going again.

"You're family," he rushed the words out, "are they all wizards?"

"Er, yes I think so." Harry found out that the Weasley family was even bigger than he saw at the station. There were two more brothers, who had already graduated from Hogwarts, as well as several aunts and uncles. Ron then asked Harry about his own family, he had somehow known he went to live with Muggles. Harry reluctantly told him about the Dursleys, he didn't want his new friend to feel sorry for him, but he wanted to be as honest as possible.

Around noon a witch pushing a cart loaded with food opened their doors and asked if they wanted anything to eat. Harry had skipped breakfast and for the first time in his life had enough money to spend on whatever he wanted to, so he went up to the cart and bought all the things he had never tried before. This ended up being a little bit of everything and he put down his purchases on an empty seat, eager to tear into his first magical treat.

Ron blushed and said he had some sandwiches from home, and at first refused Harry's offer to share his stash, but soon the growing boy's desire for sweets overcame everything else and he ripped open a pack labelled 'Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans'.

"When they say every flavour, they mean _every_ flavour." Ron explained, and the two boys spent the next few minutes trying out as many as they could.

They then turned to the Chocolate Frogs and Ron explained the collectable cards inside each one. "I need Agrippa or Ptolemy, check who you got."

After offering Hedwig a bit of cake, which she sniffed and refused, Harry opened a package and was startled when something brown jumped out, but managed to catch it.

"Nice catch Harry!" Ron exclaimed, through a mouthful of chocolate.

Harry looked at it closely, while it was trying to squirm away from his grip. It looked very much like a frog. He hesitated for only a moment, having watched Ron stuff down his fourth already, and popped it into his mouth. It instantly stopped moving and just melted in his mouth, leaving a deep, sweet, chocolaty taste on his tongue. He briefly wondered if magic somehow made everything taste better. At Ron's insistence he looked in the packet again and pulled out a card.

"Albus Dumbledore." Harry read out loud. He looked at the picture of a very old wizard with long silver hair and beard and sharp blue eyes underneath half-moon glasses. He nearly dropped the card when the figure moved to the side of the card and disappeared. "It moved!"

"Of course he moved, he's not going to stand there all day is he?" Ron answered "I've already got him, you should start collecting as well Harry."

Without taking his eyes off the card, Harry explained to Ron that people in Muggle photos did not move at all, ("Really? Weird.") and watched Dumbledore appear again and give him a half smile and a nod. He turned the card to read the back.

 _Albus Dumbledore_

 _Currently head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation of the British Ministry of Magic. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore was instrumental in the formation of the European Ministry, the most influential magical government to date. He is also credited with several magical inventions including the Nullificare Charm, allowing those with uncontrollable unintentional magic to be safely integrated within magical society._

"He used to teach at Hogwarts, you know." Ron said pointing at the card Harry was holding. "Dad doesn't know what to think of him."

"Does your dad know him?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yeah, well, they bump into each other now and then, my dad works for the Ministry as well." Ron explained. "Dumbledore's definitely a great wizard, but well... Never mind, I really shouldn't talk about it, it could get dad in trouble."

"Oh." Harry was curious but didn't pursue the subject. He and Ron opened some more Chocolate Frogs, adding more cards into Harry's new collection, then moved onto the Pumpkin Pasties, Licorice Wands, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and Cauldron Cakes. It was worth every Sickle and Knut, not just for the taste, but for providing something two hungry boys could bond over.

They leaned back on their seats, quite full, and were talking about Quidditch or more accurately Ron was talking excitedly while Harry was listening, trying not to get Bludgers and Quaffles mixed up. Harry noticed something moving outside the compartment window and looked up, his eyes meeting a girl about his age, with lots of brown bushy hair and large front teeth. She stared at him for a moment, then with a look of someone about to charge into battle, opened the door. Ron stopped talking and looked at her as well.

At the sight of two boys looking directly at her she seemed to lose her drive and almost seemed ready to walk back out before she opened her mouth.

"C... Can I sit here?" she whispered, eyes pointing towards the floor. Harry instantly saw what she was trying to do, since Harry had been working up the courage to do exactly the same thing just a few hours ago when he first met Ron. She, like him, didn't really know how to make friends. Harry blushed slightly, the girls at his old school only talked at him, usually to make fun of his clothes and call him names, he had never actually talked to a girl his age.

"Sure." Harry rummaged through his mostly eaten pile of sweets and found one still unopened. "Chocolate Frog?"

"Thanks." the girl blushed as she took the chocolate and sat down on Ron's side closer to the door. "I'm Hermione Granger."

"I'm Ron Weasley." Ron said.

"Harry Potter." as he said his name, Hermione's eyes widened and she started talking very quickly about several books in which Harry was apparently mentioned. She then moved onto the books that they required for the first year lessons, several of which Harry had actually skimmed through in August, but he couldn't remember reading most of what Hermione was talking about. By the dazed look on Ron's face, he had no idea what she was talking about either.

"Erm.. So any idea what house you'll be in?" Harry said, trying to change the subject.

"I hope I'm in Gryffindor." Ron said sounding slightly worried. "My whole family was sorted into Gryffindor, mum, dad, all my brothers. Don't know what they'll say if I got sorted somewhere else."

"Gryffindor does sound the best." Hermione said thoughtfully. "But I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad."

"How are the houses actually different?" Harry asked.

"Gryffindors are supposed to be brave and chivalrous, but I'm not really sure. Never really thought anything my family did sounded particularly brave and if anyone called Fred and George chivalrous, mum would die laughing." Ron said.

"Well there must be something, a lot of famous wizards seem to be in Gryffindor." Hermione remarked. "As for the other houses Harry, Ravenclaws are supposed to be smart and creative, Slytherins cunning and ambitious and Hufflepuffs loyal and hard working."

Harry thought about what she said and wondered what described him the most. He didn't think himself that smart, especially not after listening to Hermione reciting whole pages of their text book from memory, and he wasn't that ambitious either, right now he just wanted to make friends and try and fit in with everyone. Gryffindor did sound nice, but what did it mean for an eleven year old boy to be brave? He had no idea if he was brave or not, not unless you counted running towards a solid looking wall to catch a train. He supposed he could be hard working when he need to be, when his aunt and uncle used to set him chores, they expected it to be done perfectly and would not take any excuses. As for loyalty, there was never anyone close enough to him that he felt deserved his loyalty, his foster family the least deserving of all.

His thoughts then jumped to parents and wondering what house they were sorted into. He turned to ask Hermione, she seemed to know more about his past that he did, but couldn't actually get the words out of his mouth.

"They were in Gryffindor," the said quietly, understanding his look. "Your parents were both in Gryffindor."

"Thanks Hermione." Harry mumbled. If his parents had been in Gryffindor, he hoped he would be as well. He stayed quiet, trying to remember everything and anything Hagrid had told him about his parents a few weeks ago. Harry eventually broke from his thoughts and noticed a sombre silence in the carriage, both Ron and Hermione were avoiding looking at him, trying to read his mood.

"Sorry," Harry quickly said. "I'm okay. It just never occurred to me that I would be going to the same school as they did."

"I'm sure you'll be in Gryffindor." Ron tried to lift the mood. "It doesn't really matter anyway, all the houses have good points, well... apart from Slytherin."

Hermione frowned. "Ron! You shouldn't say that! Slytherin has a lot of bad reputation, but it's all nonsense. I've also read it's a lot better now that-"

Harry didn't hear what made Slytherin better because at that moment the compartment door opened and three boys entered. Two boys who reminded Harry of his rather large cousin and the pale blond boy he had met while getting fitted for robes, standing at the front, looking like the leader.

"They're saying Harry Potter's sitting in this compartment," he said looking at Harry. "So it's you, is it?"

"Yes." Harry remembered his first encounter with the boy in Diagon Alley, they had talked for only a few minutes, but that was enough for Harry to decide that he wasn't the sort of person he wanted to be friends with.

"My name is Draco Malfoy." he announced, straightening his back. "This is Crabbe and Goyle."

Ron gave a snort of laughter he tried to hide with a cough, but Malfoy wasn't fooled by this. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

Ron blushed and was about to say something but Hermione got up from her seat first.

"That's an incredibly rude thing to say to someone you've only just met." Harry was surprised but happy, she had been so shy only moments ago but she was already standing up for Ron.

The Malfoy boy turned to her and sneered. "I have no idea who you are and that means you're not anybody worth knowing. Thankfully, that means I wont have reason to look at your stupi-"

"What do you want?" Harry interrupted.

"Hmph." he faced Harry again. "There are some wizarding families better than others Potter, families that are worth having as friends."

"I think I can decide for myself who I want as a friend." Harry replied shortly. "If that's all you wanted, goodbye."

The pale boy's cheeks reddened slightly and his eyes narrowed, "Have it your way then Potter, enjoy surrounding yourself with riffraff like these two."

Before he left he tried to reach for some of the food, but drew his hand back sharply when Hedwig flew down onto the pile and clicked her beak at him. He gave an angry glare at the three of them and left with his two friends/bodyguards behind him.

The two boys spent a good five minutes trying to calm down an angry Hermione, Ron even seemed to forget the insult Malfoy threw towards his family, Hermione had been angry enough for the three of them.

"I heard my dad talking about the Malfoys once." Ron said. "Dark wizards apparently, and very anti-Muggle, but rich and that's why that git thinks he can get away with anything."

A disembodied voice echoed in the train, telling them they would be arriving in Hogwarts soon and that their luggage would be taken to the school separately. The two boys quickly started changing into their school robes, while a blushing Hermione, who had already changed earlier, waited outside the compartment. It was already dark outside, but Harry could make out a tiny platform and a lot of mountain and forest in the distance. He stepped off the train with Ron and Hermione and was wondering where to go when he heard someone.

"First years over here! Come on!" a man wearing comfortable robes was was holding his wand in the air, which was giving off a bright light. The smallest students leaving the train were nervously gathering around him. "Is that everyone? All right, first years follow me!"

As the wizard led them down a steep path, they got a better look at him. Harry thought that, despite the wand giving off the light, he didn't really look like a wizard, he looked more like a rugby player or some other athlete. He wasn't huge but his bare arms that showed outside his robes were thick and muscled, Harry could tell this was someone who could look after himself, wand or no wand. He led them down to a great dark lake with little boats docked near the shore. He instructed them to get on the boats ("No more than four per boat!") so Harry, Ron and Hermione found an empty boat and sat down. They were soon joined by a round-faced boy clutching a toad, who sat down without saying a word.

Ron was too busy looking towards the castle as the boats soundlessly started to glide across the lake. Hermione seemed to have gained a little courage having talked to Harry and Ron in the train, and so introduced herself to the boy with the toad.

"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger." she said confidently. She waited a moment but when no one else spoke she continued. "This is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."

Ron quickly said hi and looked back towards the cliff they were approaching, Harry managed to resist a few seconds longer. The boy's eyes widened in recognition at Harry's name and after a moment just said quietly. "Neville Longbottom."

Neville then turned his attention, like Ron, across the lake. Harry and Hermione looked at each other a moment and shrugged, then fell silent as the boats entered an opening in the cliff and glided through a dark tunnel. They eventually reached a small harbour, where they got off and started climbing upwards until they finally reached the castle. The wizard leading them looked over his wards once then gave three sharp taps on the castle door.

The doors swung open revealing a grand stone hall with high ceilings and a magnificent marble staircase, all lit up with burning torches. A stern-faced witch with emerald green robes was standing there waiting for them, Harry gulped reflexively.

"The first years Professor McGonagall." the wizard that had brought them here bowed his head slightly to the witch.

"Thank you Remus." the witch replied.

At her words some of the children around Harry, including Ron, gave a gasp and some, like Malfoy, even took a step backwards. Remus ignored the reaction and after giving the professor another small bow, left them and moved deeper into the castle. Harry, Hermione and a few others were confused by this but was prevented from asking anything when Professor McGonagall silenced them a sharp glare, she definitely wasn't someone you wanted to cross.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." she said in a crisp Scottish accent while leading them in the same direction Remus had taken. Harry and the others listened carefully as she explained the sorting of houses and the start of term banquet. She told them to smarten up and left them in a small empty chamber, telling them she would be back shortly. As soon as she left nervous whispering broke out amongst them, mostly discussing how the sorting was supposed to work and what houses they wanted to be in. Harry had another question he wanted to ask Ron.

"Hey Ron, why did everyone seem so surprised at that man who brought us here?" Harry asked quietly, Hermione had also heard him and was waiting for an answer.

"My brothers told me about him." Ron whispered dramatically. "He's a werewolf!"

Hermione gave a small gasp, but Harry still had no idea what the big deal was. "Is that bad? Being a werewo-"

His question was suddenly cut off as several people screamed behind him. He turned around thinking this Remus had returned but was shocked when several pale and transparent looking people glided through the walls and towards them. The ghosts looked over them with interest and jovially wished them luck with the sorting. The doors opened again.

"Form a line." Professor McGonagall said. "Follow me."

Harry was starting to get nervous as they followed her, he had no idea what being sorted would be like. They eventually reached the Great Hall.

The whole room was lit with thousands of candles and there didn't seem to be a ceiling. The room was already filled with students, seated in four long wooden tables, with golden cups and plates already laid upon them. At the top of the hall, slightly raised above the others, was another table with several older wizards and witches. The first years stood there waiting and watched Professor McGonagall bring out a tattered wizard's hat on top of a four-legged stool. The hum of conversation in the hall seem to die out and everyone seemed to be looking at the hat.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty..." the hat sang aloud for several minutes.

When the song finished the whole hall burst into applause. Harry, Ron and Hermione also joined in, relieved that all they would have to do is put on the hat. Professor McGonagall then pulled out a long roll of parchment and started reading their names off the list. Harry listened to both Hermione and Neville get sorted into Gryffindor and Draco Malfoy into Slytherin. When his name was called whispered murmurs broke out amongst the students. Harry tried to ignore them, but his face was red by the time he walked out and put on the hat.

"Hmm," said a voice in his head. "difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either and you most definitely want to prove yourself. Ha! I shouldn't say this but you wouldn't do too bad in a certain other school either."

Hermione had tried to say earlier that Slytherin wasn't all that bad, but she'd been sorted into Gryffindor and he was positive he wouldn't want to spend any more time than necessary with Draco Malfoy. He repeated 'Not Slytherin' over and over again in his mind.

"Not Slytherin, eh? Hmm... Strange, very strange. Something about your... Well, if you're sure..." the hat seemed to take in a deep breath. "Better be GRYFFINDOR!"

There was a huge cheer from the Gryffindor table as Harry made his way towards his new house mates. He was still shaking slightly as he was congratulated by the entire table with hand shakes and pats on the back. As Harry sat next to Hermione, the table settled down to watch the rest of the sorting. There was another loud cheer when Ron was sorted into Gryffindor, Harry, Hermione and Ron's brothers cheering the loudest. Eventually, all the first years were sorted and Professor McGonagall took the hat back out of the hall. Ron was chatting with the twins and Hermione was already discussing school work with Percy Weasley, who was a prefect. Harry half listened to the conversations around him but was looking at the staff table.

Hagrid was there, waving at Harry, and so was Remus the werewolf. There were various witches and wizards all looking over the new arrivals and softly speaking to each other. There was one wizard that definitely caught Harry's eye over the others. He looked like what Harry imagined when he heard the word 'wizard', long grey hair, bushy beard and long purple and brown robes. He was the oldest looking person Harry had even seen, but there was a powerful unseen force behind his presence. Harry turned to Percy, who seemed a good source of knowledge about this school, and asked him who that old professor was.

"Oh that? That's Professor Dumbledore." Percy told him.

"No he isn't." Harry said looking confused. There might have been a certain resemblance to the wizard he had read about on the Chocolate Frog card, but even at this distance he was sure that it wasn't the same person.

"I beg you pardon?" Percy said indignantly. "I think I would know a professor who has been teaching me for the last four years."

"I got his card from a Chocolate Frog today, Dumbledore I mean." Harry rummaged his pockets to look for the card and showed it to Percy. "Look, Dumbledore. I'm sure it's not the same person."

Percy looked at the card and gave Harry a slightly condescending smile.

"That," he said pointing at the card Harry was holding. "is Albus Dumbledore, who works for the Ministry. The Professor is Aberforth Dumbledore, they're brothers."

"Oh," Harry had been right about the resmeblance.

"Yes, he used to be an Auror. Someone who apprehends dark wizards and witches." Percy explained when he saw Harry's blank face. "The headmaster hired him to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts when he retired."

"He's not the Headmaster?" Harry would have bet all the Galleons in his Gringotts vault that the ancient wizard was the Headmaster.

"No, that's the Headmaster sitting next to him." Percy pointed at a wizard with black hair, with a few strands of grey showing and wearing dark green robes with a line of gold looping randomly throughout the fabric. He was looking around the Hall at the new and old students with a smile. He leaned forward and said a few words to Professor Dumbledore before standing up, raising his hands for silence. As the talking slowly died away, Percy whispered to Harry, "It's Riddle. Professor Tom Riddle."


	3. Year 1 - Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **The Brothers Dumbledore**

"To all those newly sorted, welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Headmaster Riddle said to the room. "And to the rest of you, welcome back."

Harry looked at the man and thought he was very unusual, unusual in that he seemed so very ordinary. He wasn't massive like Hagrid or with waist length facial hair like the Dumbledores, he was so very normal that if he had replaced his robes with a suit, he could have even walked up to Uncle Vernon and not prompt a reaction.

"A few words before we start the feast. Those interested in playing Quidditch for your house team, please see your head of house or Madam Hooch. The trials normally take place the second week of term so do so before then." he paused for a moment and there was an excited murmur amongst the students. "As many of you seem to be aware of, the Triwizard Tournament will take place this year at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and if you wish to participate please see your head of house."

Ron had explained Quidditch rather extensively while on the train, but Harry had no idea what the Triwizard Tournament was. Before he could ask anyone Riddle raised his hands and the hall fell silent again.

"Anyone above the second year may do so, but the final decision lies with your head of house, if they do not consider you capable enough, you will not compete this year. I remind you that the event takes place every three years so many of you will still have a chance to compete in the future." he continued calmly. "Well, I think that's..."

Professor McGonagoll, who was sitting next to the headmaster, turned and said something quietly.

"Oh, yes. The forest on the grounds of the school is forbidden to all pupils. Don't go in there." he turned his head slightly and McGonagall gave an infinitesimal nod. "Well then, let the feast begin!"

He clapped his hands and at that moment the golden plates in front of Harry were suddenly filled with food of all sorts. Harry laughed in wonder and started helping himself to everything. Imagining Dudley's face if he could see what Harry was allowed to eat here just seemed to make the food tastier.

"So what's the Triwizard Tournament?" Harry asked Ron, after swallowing some roast potatoes.

"It's a magical contest between three schools in Europe, there's one Champion from each school and they're tested on magical ability, courage, intelligence, stuff like that." Ron had a huge smile. "My brother Bill was Hogwarts Champion three years ago, he didn't manage to win but still, it was a huge honour and all that."

"That's amazing!" Hermione said. "What kind of tasks did he have to do?"

Ron, with help from Fred, George and Percy, spent the next twenty minutes explaining in detail what Bill did in the tournament. The most vivid account was of his final task, climbing a tower filled with fierce creatures and dangerous curses, which Ron and the rest of the Weasley siblings were lucky enough to watch when they visited Hogwarts with their parents. The conversation then turned to who might compete this year.

"Maybe Oliver Wood?" said a sixth year who was listening to their conversation. A boy with short brown hair looked up when he heard his name. "He's not going to have another chance to compete."

"No way!" said George. "He's Quidditch captain, he wont do anything that'll stop him from playing!"

"Definitely!" Fred agreed. "He's even got a Quaffle in his head and two Golden Snitches instead of-"

"Fred! Don't make such crude remarks while we're eating!" Percy the prefect shouted, even though his words were lost in the howls of laughter, including from Oliver Wood himself.

The desserts soon arrived and Harry was introduced to the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, and talked to other first years about their families. Most seemed eager to share their stories but Neville, who sat with Harry on the boat, only said sullenly that he lived with his father, who was a wizard.

The food eventually disappeared and they were led to Gryffindor Tower, with a brief encounter with Peeves the poltergeist, and into the common room which you entered by giving a portrait of the Fat Lady a password (Caput Draconis for this term). When Harry and Ron eventually got to the dormitories, they were full and very tired. The boys all quickly said their goodnights and fell asleep in their beds.

* * *

Harry's first week at Hogwarts was the busiest he had ever been in his life. Not only was the Hogwarts much bigger than than any school he previously attended, but Harry had the feeling that the castle itself was deliberately trying to get them lost. Between vanishing steps, fake doors and Peeves the poltergeist amongst other things, he had yet to be on time for one of his lessons. What made it more difficult, apart from the whispers and stares he got for being Harry Potter, was that he couldn't rely on Ron or Hermione to help him get to class.

Professor McGonagall, their head of house, had explained on the morning after their arrival, that all students would be split into four classes with students from all of the four houses. This was apparently a new system adopted by Professor Riddle a few years after he became Headmaster in an attempt to strengthen relations between the houses. According to Hermione's books, had anyone else suggested this change they would have been challenged by the Hogwarts Board of Governors, especially those former Slytherin. But the fact that the hHeadmaster was himself a Slytherin and a well respected and powerful wizard had allowed the rules to change.

Harry was all for inter-house cooperation, but was honestly very annoyed at being separated from Ron and Hermione within a day of becoming friends with them. Even worst than that was the fact that he was placed in the same class as someone, he decided from day one, he wanted to avoid as much as possible. Malfoy had obviously received some basic training before coming to Hogwarts and would smirk and gloat at Harry whenever the teachers were looking away, not forgetting the fact that Harry had snubbed his offer of friendship.

In Potions the taunting grew even worse, as Malfoy would sometimes do it out loud in full view of the teacher, as the professor, Severus Snape, was head of the Slytherin house. Even Snape himself had mocked Harry during their first lesson, sarcastically calling him a 'celebrity'. Between Malfoy and Snape, Potions soon turned into his most hated lesson. He didn't even receive much help from the Gryffindors in his class, Neville was still as quiet as he had been the first time they had met and Lavender Brown, although much chattier than Neville was, had not much sense of direction and was very easily cowed by Professor Snape.

"I really hate Potions." moaned Harry, pushing the chips around his plate with a fork. "And I really, really hate Malfoy."

"So he's had a bit of an early start, we'll catch up soon enough." Hermione tried to cheer him up.

Ron laughed. "What are you talking about Hermione, you're already best in the whole year! In Transfiguration just now, McGonagall actually smiled at her. Smiled!"

"I'm just saying," Hermione blushed, but looked pleased. "it's only our first week. Once you get used to things, it'll get easier. As for Professor Snape... maybe you should go to-"

"I am not going to a teacher Hermione! It's fine, I'm just making it sound worse than it actually is." Harry snapped his head towards Hermione. He would die of embarrassment if Hermione went to Professor McGonagall and told her that he was being picked on by Snape.

Hermione looked like she wanted to say something more but kept her mouth shut and the three of them spent a few minutes quietly eating their lunch.

"So what do you have after lunch Harry?" Ron asked, trying to break the silence.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts." it was the class Harry had been looking forward to the most. "You had it this morning didn't you? How was it?"

"He definitely knows his stuff, he was supposed to be one of the best Aurors around before he retired. Really intense." Ron said.

Hermione washed down the rest of her lunch with some pumpkin juice. "We should get going, our next lessons are going to start soon."

As soon as Harry entered the room he went straight to the front, he remembered his first impressions of the Defence teacher and didn't want to miss anything he would be teaching them. Neville, who usually sat next to Harry during their lessons, moved to the back of the class and Lavender was as usual chatting with Hannah Abbott, who was in Hufflepuff and the two Ravenclaw girls Lisa Turpin and Padma Patil. Aberforth Dumbledore soon walked into the class and the talking stopped instantly.

"Good afternoon, welcome to Defence Against the Dark Arts." Harry's first impression of him hadn't been wrong, he had a very powerful presence. "Despite this rather grand name associated with this class, we shall be starting slowly, with basic spells, such as _lumos_ , _fumos_ and _flipendo_ , before moving on to more offensive spells near the end of the year."

Anthony Goldstein, who was sitting next to Harry, looked a little disappointed. Professor Dumbledore saw him, as well as several other students, reacting similarly and smiled.

"It has been quite a few years, thankfully, since it was necessary to teach eleven year olds how to stun, shield, cut and heal. No, we live in more peaceful times." Dumbledore's turned to Harry. "After the fall of Grindelwald a decade ago, we have been allowed to return to a more... standard lesson plan."

Anthony was also looking openly at Harry, and he would bet that the rest of the class were as well. He was slowly getting red in the face, but was grateful to Professor Dumbledore. His twinkling blue eyes and tone of voice held not a shred of malice, unlike Snape's, and he didn't seem to be overdoing it like several other people he had met. Dumbledore's voice suddenly turned sharp. "Do not mistake this for the end of all darkness. The lure of the Dark Arts is as strong as it has ever been and even now, somewhere, is a witch or wizard that desires power without regard for the consequences. There are still creatures that lurk our world, cunning and foul, that would not hesitate to take your lives or even your very soul."

Harry shivered. There was absolute silence in the room. Dumbledore held the silence for a moment, then said with a softer voice.

"But you need not worry about such things for a few more years. What you learn in the next few weeks might seem little more than basic wand work and dealing with petty household pests, but there will be a time, at least once in your lives, when you will be grateful for what you learn here." he drew his wand out from his robes. "Take out your wands."

Everyone rushed to take their wands out. Professor Dumbledore then raised his wand in the air and said, softly but clearly, " _lumos_ ". Even with the afternoon sun the light emanating from the tip of his wand was bright and even slightly warm after the cold harsh truth they had just heard. It had been the same spell Remus had used while he led the first years from the train, but even this simple spell seemed much more adept in the hands of the older wizard.

"In darkness lies the unknown and it has always been human nature to fear the unknown. Therefore the most evil creatures and beings, thrive in the darkness." he said, the whole class hanging on to every single word. "To banish the darkness is to overcome fear and create a slimmer of hope when there seems to be none."

He suddenly laughed out loud, causing several people to jump in their seats. "This simple wand-lighting charm will obviously not repel vampires or protect you from curses, but I can assure you that it is a very useful spell."

A few people gave a small laugh, including Harry.

"Alright, we shall be practising the spell for the rest of the class. Try and visualise yourself banishing darkness, banishing fear. Simply hold your wands like this and..."

Harry was cheered up immensely after their Defence class. It had been a very basic spell so everyone managed it quite well by the end of the class, but Harry's light had been the brightest, much brighter than Malfoy's had been. The two Slytherins had already left them by the end of the class, but the rest were talking excitedly and slowly making their way to their respective common rooms. They were all looking forward to what they would learn next. The chatting paused when they turned a corner and saw Professor McGonagall walking towards them.

"Mr. Potter, I need to speak to you." she said briskly.

Harry groaned inwardly. Had Hermione gone to the professor and told her about Snape's behaviour towards Harry? He stayed behind as the rest of his class said their goodbyes and left.

McGonagall turned and gestured at Harry. "Follow me Mr. Potter, the Headmaster wishes to speak with you."

"The He..headmaster, professor?" Harry tried to keep up the brisk pace McGonagall was setting. "Wh..why?"

She turned to look at him without stopping. "No need to worry, you aren't in any trouble."

She didn't say anything else and Harry felt he couldn't really ask her. They continued walking until they reached a corridor with a statue of a gargoyle standing at the end. Harry was wondering if they made a wrong turn, but the professor just walked up to the statue and said, "Crotalus ruber." Harry gasped as the gargoyle moved aside revealing a small entrance to a small round room. From the ground stone steps suddenly appeared and slowly started to rotate upwards, creating a spiral staircase climbing to the upper parts of the tower. Harry followed McGonagall and stood on the steps and waited until they stopped moving. The professor then walked forward and knocked on the door that was before them.

"Come in." McGonagall opened the door and entered, Harry followed.

The Headmaster's office was unlike any room that Harry had seem before. There were portraits of witches and wizards, all of whom seemed to be asleep, on the walls and any spare space was taken over by bookcases. They were are crammed full of books and the occasional strange metal device, none of which Harry could identify. There was also a...

"Snake!" Harry jumped back as a python with pale yellow and brown patches slid across the floor, inches from his feet. He wasn't afraid of snakes, after all, he had set one loose and terrified his cousin when they visited a zoo, but the sudden appearance had taken him by surprise.

"Shoo!" Professor McGonagall waved her hands at it trying to drive it away. It seemed to look at her rather playfully before sliding away.

There a little chuckle from the man that was waiting for them. "I'm sorry about that Harry, I can promise you that she won't bite."

Harry looked up and saw the headmaster come around his desk and walk over to them. Professor McGonagall snorted, "It's not about whether it bites or not, most people don't like it when they find themselves within touching distance of a snake. I happen to know that both Pomona and Filius both have their eyes on the floor whenever they enter your office. I swear that thing seems to enjoy ambushing and scaring whoever comes into the room."

"I don't mind snakes." Harry said, trying to redeem himself after his little show of fright.

"See! He doesn't mind." smiled Professor Riddle. "Anyway, thank you Minnie for bringing Harry here."

"Tom!" Professor McGonagall's cheek went bright red. "Not in front of students!"

Even though he wanted to be anywhere else at this moment, he couldn't help but smile. Seeing his stern, no-nonsense head of house flush in embarrassment was not something he ever expected to see.

"Sorry, sorry." he turned to Harry. "I hope you wont go spreading that around?"

"No, sir." Harry grinned.

The Headmaster nodded and the smile faded from his face. Professor McGonagall also had a worried look. "He should be by the main entrance now. Tom, should I stay? I can rearrange the detention to another time."

"We'll be fine Minerva. Besides if he's going to get angry with us, better for the Deputy Headmistress to stay in his good books." he held his hand up when she tried to speak again. "No, go on now. I need to have a word with Mr. Potter before he arrives."

McGonagall sighed and left the office, leaving Harry alone with the Headmaster, and a snake wandering somewhere. Harry listened to the conversation between the two professors but could not work out what they were talking about. If they were talking about Snape, they wouldn't be sounding this worried, so perhaps it wasn't Hermione's doing?

"How was your first week at Hogwarts?." Professor Riddle asked with a small smile.

"It's been the best week of my life sir." Harry answered honestly, but he couldn't keep the worry from his voice. "but... am I in trouble?"

"No Harry you are not." his eyes were black, but they seemed to contain a bit of warmth, like a glowing hot coal. If he had seen eyes like those randomly on the street, it would have been unsettling, but here at Hogwarts, he felt he could trust this man.

"Rubeus informed me that you were not aware of your past, but he has explained some of it to you." he continued when Harry nodded. "I am also aware that you are not completely happy living with your aunt and uncle."

This was an understatement. Before receiving the letters from Hogwarts, he had been living in a cupboard and considered little more than a servant by his aunt and uncle. His cousin was a constant bully, and there had been no one in his life that he felt he could rely on. Harry bit his lips and turned away from the Headmaster, he didn't want to appear weak in front of him.

Riddle sighed and continued. "You've known me barely a week and this is the first time we've ever spoken, but I wish to ask that you please trust me. There is a reason you are living with them, I cannot explain to you right now, but I promise you, it is for your own protection."

Harry didn't know what to say. Unfortunately he didn't have time to say much at all.

"He's coming, Professor Riddle." a voice said from the walls.

"Harry, look at me." Riddle placed his hands on Harry's shoulders and Harry looked up. "I know I am asking for a lot, but just this once, please trust me."

Harry slowly nodded without breaking eye contact. He had no idea what he was about to face but he was glad Professor Riddle was here with him. There was a sharp tap on the door and just before it opened Harry noticed the snake slithering rapidly away, deeper into the headmaster office.

An ancient wizard, with long silver hair and beard, entered the office immediately imposing his presence upon everyone in the office. His eyes were a soul-piercing shade of blue and when Harry looked into his eyes, he felt his thoughts were no longer his own.

"Tom." the visitor inclined his head slightly to the Headmaster.

"Albus Dumbledore..." Harry muttered quietly, but apparently not quietly enough.

Dumbledore and Riddle both turned to him, looking curious.

"You know who I am Mr. Potter?" his eyes flashed briefly towards Riddle.

"Chocolate Frog." Harry managed to say, hoping they would understand. Professor Riddle's lips twitched and Dumbledore merely nodded.

"I have been wanting to see you for a very long time Mr. Potter, the 'Boy Who Lived'," Dumbledore held Harry's gaze. "but after Grindelwald's death your whereabouts were kept a closely guarded secret by certain parties."

Harry just nodded. He tried to recall anything he could from the Chocolate Frog card, but after the first week at his new school, the only thing he could remember was that he was one of the most powerful wizards living today. Ron had said he worked for the Ministry of Magic, but... had he said there was something off about Dumbledore?

"I understand you were sent to live with your relatives, Muggles I've heard?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry looked at Professor Riddle, who just smiled at him. "Yes sir, my aunt and uncle. And my cousin Dudley."

"And are you happy living with them?" Dumbledore asked slowly.

"Er, it's okay I suppose." Harry murmured, looking away slightly.

Albus Dumbledore's eyes flashed. "Wouldn't you rather live with someone from our world? A wizard or a witch who understands magic?"

"No... I'm fine." he found it much easier to trust the Headmaster after meeting Dumbledore. He was as intimidating as his brother was but seemed to have none of his warmth. They looked similar in a way, but there would be no mistaking one for the other after talking to them for a minute.

Dumbledore broke his gaze and turned to Professor Riddle. "I suppose you've been telling him that he has to live there for his own protection?"

"It's the truth, Albus." Riddle replied calmly.

"So who are you protecting him from? Grindelwald is defeated, his follower are all but dead or imprisoned." Riddle said nothing so Dumbledore continued. "As for your theory that Grindelwald will return somehow, well, it is a theory that holds no water in the Ministry. The King of Crows is dead and gone."

"Why..." Harry cleared his throat. "why don't you want me living with my relatives?"

"Because Mr. Potter, you are a very important figure to the wizarding world, someone who, as a child, managed to defeat one of the most hated and feared Dark Wizards of all time." Dumbledore said eloquently, almost reciting a speech he had memorised beforehand. "You don't deserve to be hidden away, sent to live with people you clearly have no love for."

Harry's cheeks went pink, Dumbledore had seen through his lies. He looked towards Riddle with an apologetic look on his face, but the Headmaster was still smiling, with that warm look in his eyes.

"I've had reports from Diagon Alley, your visit there a few weeks ago caused quite a stir." Dumbledore was talking quite quickly now, "Don't you see Harry, there is a whole world out there, who has nothing but love for you. Wizards and witches that would welcome you into their homes with open arms and teach you all about the world you never should have been away from."

"I.. I'm learning all I need to here at Hogwarts, sir. I think I'd rather stay with my aunt and uncle." Harry managed to be honest this time, he really didn't like the idea of living with those random people who had walked up to him to shake his hands, however much they liked him. He would also be allowed to stay at Hogwarts until the summer holidays, he wouldn't have to see the Dursleys for almost a year.

"I see. That is unfortunate, but the offer still stands. If you ever change your mind and wish to move away from you Muggle relatives, just send me an owl and I will sort everything out." before Harry could reply Albus Dumbledore was already facing the Headmaster. "Well, Tom, I have said what I came here to say. It's has been a pleasure meeting you Mr. Potter."

"Will you visit Aberforth? I believe he is not busy right now." Riddle asked.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, I must return to the Ministry, I'm afraid we are quite busy preparing for the Triwizard Tournament. We met for lunch before term started, just send him my regards."

"I shall see you to the edge of the wards then Albus." he made a move towards the door.

"Thank you, but there is no need Tom, I shall go from here. Fawkes!" a bright flash of flame suddenly appeared before Harry, causing him to yelp in surprise and jump back, bumping into Professor Riddle, who placed a hand on his shoulder and held it there. There was a red bird, the size of a swan, with a long golden tail staring at Harry with it's beady black eyes. Dumbledore placed his hand on the bird's back and Harry flinched when the wings suddenly shot out, just before bursting into flame again and disappearing without a trace.

Harry stood there stunned, with no idea of what he just witnessed. A light tapping on his shoulders broke him from his daze. Riddle was looking down at him with a smile on his face.

"Sir, what was that?" a mixture of fear and awe in his voice.

"That, Harry, was a phoenix. An immortal firebird and Albus Dumbledore's loyal companion." Riddle explained to him. Harry didn't feel that this really answered his question.

"Why did he walk all the way if he could just.. just come here?" the question just popped into his head.

Riddle gave a slight chuckle. "Because, it would be incredibly rude for someone to just appear in your office without announcing themselves. Would you like a cup of tea Harry?"

Riddle returned behind his desk and, with a flick of his wand, created a chair out of thin air. Harry sat down, he needed a moment to calm himself down before returning to Gryffindor Tower. With another wave of his wand, the Headmaster banished all the books littering his table, into their places on the shelves, and created a pot of tea with two mugs. It was a very ornate teapot with clawed feet, on the side Harry could see a lion, eagle, badger and serpent all seeming to follow each other. Harry accepted the mug of tea, which was decorated with a red and gold lion, and took a sip.

"The two Dumbledores seem very different. I just had my Defence class before coming here." Harry explained.

"Yes they do don't they." Riddle agreed. "Both great wizards, of course, but yes, they are very different."

Harry waiting for more, but Riddle just smiled as he drank from his green and silver mug. Harry wondered briefly if Mr. Dumbledore was right, would he really learn more if he didn't have to live with the Dursleys?

"I was raised as a Muggle." Professor Riddle said suddenly. "Didn't find out about magic until I was your age."

"Really?" Harry had been worrying, even since he met with Hagrid, about his lack of knowledge about this world, about struggling to keep up with lessons.

The Headmaster nodded. "My mother was a witch, but didn't tell my father about it until the letter arrived. She was worried he would be angry and leave her."

He saw the curious expression on Harry and answered. "She needn't have worried. He loved her until the day she passed. I dare say he finds magic very useful now, it lets him go about his day like a person half his age."

"Oh, I'm sorry... about your mother, I mean." Harry felt awkward saying this but felt he needed to.

Riddle smiled warmly, "It was a long time ago, but thank you all the same."

"Can... can I ask as question... about Gindelwald?" Harry asked after a minutes silence.

"I may not be able to give you an answer, but there is no harm is asking." Riddle replied slowly.

"Do you think he's still alive? That he's really after me?" a few minutes ago the only thing Harry had to worry about was his school work, now apparently the person who had killed his parents was still alive and out to get him.

"I believe so Harry, unfortunately there is no proof." Riddle sighed. "What I do know is that there are steps a dark wizard can take, that would allow him to return from the dead. It has been quiet so far, but I think he will make his move, sooner rather than later."

"Why did... Mr. Dumbledore call him the 'King of Crows'?" that title had given Harry the chills for some reason.

"He was an Animagus, a wizard that could transform himself to a crow, and like the animal he was very cunning. I was told he was one of the best players of wizard's chess in his time." Riddle explained. "It is also because he used some of the most evil, darker aspects of magic associated with... death."

Harry shivered and held his mug with both hands, he decided he didn't really want to know what these darker aspects were. He drained the rest of his tea and stood up. "Thank you for the tea, Professor Riddle."

"You're very welcome Harry." the Headmaster gave him another warm smile.

The snake that had escaped Dumbledore's presence peeked his head around a corner near the back of the office and Harry gave her a little wave. He heard the Headmaster let out a little chuckle as he descended the stairs and back to the castle corridors.

He made his way to the common room, where he found Ron and Hermione sitting on a table, doing their homework.

"Where have you been Harry?" Ron asked, looking relieved at having an excuse to take a break from his work.

Harry told his friends about what had happened in the Headmaster's office. They listened with their mouths open.

"Blimey, you met Albus Dumbledore?" Ron remarked.

"He's supposed to be one of the greatest wizards of our time!" Hermione exclaimed. "He even has a phoenix and can transport himself out of Hogwarts! You can't even Apparate within Hogwarts grounds!"

"You can't do what?" Harry asked.

"Apparition is making yourself vanish at one location and appear again at another." Ron explained. "You need to be of age to do it though."

"Ron, can I ask what what you were going to say about Dumbledore when we were on the train?" Harry asked his friend.

Ron hesitated. "Well it's just that dad think he's a bit of an anti-Muggle. He's not openly mouthing off like some other people do, but dad thinks he's secretly working to take rights away from Muggles. I don't know if it's true or not though, my dad's a bit too obsessed with them. Muggles, I mean."

Harry thought about this and remembered what Albus Dumbledore had said to him in the Headmaster's office. He definitely wanted to take him away from his Muggle relatives, but did that mean he hated all Muggles? Harry wasn't really sure. He opened his bag and took out some of his books and joined his friends to get some homework done. Ron tried a few times to get Harry and Hermione talking again, but soon stopped when Hermione glared at him.

* * *

Just before the weekend, Harry found several people gathered around a board in the common room, where notices were attached. It was a sign up sheet for first years who wanted to learn how to fly. All the Gryffindors signed up, even Hermione, who seemed very uneasy at the idea of flying on a broomstick but was not going to turn down the chance to learn anything at school.

On Saturday morning after breakfast, the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years made their ways to the school grounds where Madam Hooch was waiting for them. All those that had grown up in a wizarding household seemed to be at ease, mostly having already flown before. A few were bragging about their flying skills, the worst of all being Malfoy, who smirked in Harry's direction, who was nervous and showing it on his face. He wasn't as bad as Hermione though, who had spent last night and this morning trying to memorise any book that seemed remotely related to flying on a broomstick, and was now mumbling the words under her breath.

Madam Hooch didn't give them much advice and just told them to stand next to a broom and shout "UP!". Surprisingly Harry's broom shot straight into his hand and stayed there, making him think that he might not be too bad at this. Soon all twenty of the students were in the air flying slowly around, Madam Hooch was keeping a close eye on them, as if she expected an accident to happen anytime.

Even going at this slow pace, Harry instantly knew he was in love with flying, he had never felt so free. Controlling the broomstick came naturally to him, he just seemed to know where to place his hands and shift his body to change direction, speed up and slow down. He looked at Ron and they grinned, he finally seemed to understand his friend's obsession with Quidditch, he couldn't wait to go see his first match. He turned his head around trying to find Hermione, to see how she was doing.

Some colour had returned to her cheeks, she had been very pale when they were about to take off, and although she was one of the slowest amongst them, she was steady and had a determined look on her face.

"Alright then, everyone back on the ground." Madam Hooch waited until all her students were off their brooms. "Now that everyone seems to have the basics sorted, we'll be splitting up into smaller groups and taking turns flying with a bit more speed."

The girls went first, the Slytherins then the Gryffindors.

"Well done Hermione." Harry said to her, as the Slytherin boys and Madam Hooch took off.

"I just hope we don't have to do this again." Hermione was leaning on her broom, taking deep breaths.

"You were fine, Hermione." Ron was shifting from feet to feet, clearly itching to get off the ground again. "Besides, even if you get hurt the school nurse can heal you in seconds. Fred broke his arm last year playing Quidditch and she managed to fix it overnight."

"Don't talk about breaking bones.." Hermione groaned.

But Ron wasn't listening to her. He turned to Harry with a scowl on his face. "I was hoping Malfoy was all talk, he actually doesn't seem to be too bad."

Harry didn't need to be told, he had been watching Malfoy fly as soon as he was in the sky following his movements. Since coming to Hogwarts, flying was the only thing he instinctively knew he was actually good at, he had felt it the moment his feet pushed against the ground and felt the wind rush around his messy black hair and he was determined to do better than Draco Malfoy.

The Slytherins returned, Malfoy at the front with a smug expression on his face. Harry gritted his teeth and got on his broomstick. Madam Hooch signalled them to go and the five Gryffindor boys went up into the air. Harry closed his eyes and briefly forgot about his rivalry with Malfoy and enjoyed the feeling of the wind on his face. He opened his eyes and saw something out of the corner of his eyes.

It was a bird, sitting on a bare branch of a tree. A crow. Harry shuddered as he remembered his conversations with the Headmaster a few days ago. He was about to turn and fly away when it made a loud 'caw' and with a few erratic beats of it's wings, came gliding towards Harry. Harry yelped as he felt a sharp pain in his scar, and he lost his grip on the broom as his hands shot up to his forehead. Harry tried to dodge the black mess of feathers that was flying towards him using only his legs, but lost his balance and fell to the ground.


	4. Year 1 - Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Old Friends**

Harry was incredibly annoyed with himself. He had to endure the ministrations of Madam Pomfrey for several hours, while she fixed his broken wrist. Madam Hooch and even Professor McGonagall had also followed Harry to the hospital wing, fussing over him and making sure there was nothing else wrong with him, sharing a dark look when the flying instructor had told his head of house about the crow. When they finally turned to Harry to actually ask him if he was fine, he didn't mention the brief pain around his scar, he was sure they would make him stay there the whole weekend if he did.

During his childhood, the scar had hurt from time to time, but it had been several years since the pain was this intense. It had been one of his worst memories, while he was at primary school during the middle of class he had clutched his scar, screamed in pain and started crying uncontrollably. His aunt was called into school and had reassured the worried teachers that he would be taken to hospital straight away. She obviously did not take him there, but went right back home, where she had shouted at him for causing trouble.

There had been a few more like that afterwards, but he had learnt not to show it. He would bite his lips until they bled and shed a few tears, but he would not cry out like he had done before and he would tell everyone that he was fine.

By the start of next week, the incident had already spread to the whole school and there seemed to be more whispers following him everywhere he went. There were a few people, such as Anthony Goldstein, who came up to him and gave their support. Harry found out that crows were used by Grindelwald and his followers while he was in power, as spies and messengers, and were still considered bad luck. Those students that approached Harry all had family members that had lived through and survived those dark times, and had seen relatives react just as Harry had done when a black bird flew in their direction. Harry was most surprised when Neville spoke to him while they were going to their Charms lesson.

"I hate those things as well, Harry, my whole family does." Neville said, more firmly than ever before. "Anyone who calls you a coward deserves a punch to the face."

Just after he said this, Harry and Anthony had to hurry and grab his robes as Neville clenched his fists and jumped towards Malfoy, who was flapping his arms and making a noise like a chicken. Harry was tempted to let go of his robes and see Malfoy knocked to the floor, but didn't want to see his classmate get into trouble because of him. He had already endured his mocking for a few days, he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction by reacting to his taunts now.

The next morning Harry woke up with a start, flailing his hands to throw off a crow that had flew right at his face. He sighed and tired to fall asleep again but he couldn't shake the image from his mind, he been having very vivid nightmares recently. He tried to think about something else and wondered if he would have another chance to fly again, hoping to ask if he could borrow one of the school brooms and fly around at the weekends. How much did brooms cost? Did he have enough money in his vault to actually buy one for himself? He would definitely ask Ron during breakfast.

About an hour later, the others started stirring from their sleep and Harry got up and prepared for his day ahead. They met Hermione in the common room and made their way to the Great Hall. Harry was asking Ron about broomstick prices when they entered and they noticed a buzz of excited conversation. They sat down next to Fred and George, who had a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of them.

"Has something happened?" Ron asked his brothers.

"There was a break in at Gringotts on Saturday." George told them. "They were trying to keep it a secret, but a reporter managed to find out somehow."

"Someone stole from Gringotts?" Harry asked. "I thought it was impossible?"

"Well not impossible, I reckon a few people could could pull it off. The Headmaster, for example." Fred indicated the staff table with his head. Harry noticed that the teachers had a much more serious expression than they normally did this time of the morning.

"The Headmaster would never do such a thing!" Hermione said indignantly.

"Of course not." Fred rolled his eyes. "Just saying he could if he wanted to, he's powerful enough. But I guess it has to be someone using dark magic"

"What did they take?" Harry asked, helping himself to some food.

"Don't think they took anything." George was reading from the paper. "The Gringotts Head Goblin has issued a statement saying that only one vault was breeched and guards caught up with the criminal before anything could be taken. You're money is safe so you don't need to visit and you DON'T NEED TO SEND US ANY HOWLERS!"

"o hey oght hm?" Ron asked between mouthfuls of toast.

Fred looked at his brother and snorted, but answered his question. "No doesn't sound like it. Killed a load of goblins and managed to escape."

Harry remembered what Hagrid had said when they visited Gringotts, how it was the safest place in the world for anything you want to keep safe, apart from Hogwarts. Harry ate scrambled eggs and toast while listening to theories the other Gryffindors were giving about the break-in, including a vampire invasion, an inside job by the goblins and some people were even suggesting it was carried out by ghosts. Harry listened and laughed, for once they weren't paying any attention to him and it was brilliant.

The next day, during their Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Justin Finch-Fletchley put his hand up to ask a question. "Sir, what do you think broke into Gringotts on Saturday? Is it true you need to use dark magic to break in?"

Professor Dumbledore looked around the class and saw everyone waiting for an answer. He smiled slightly, with his blue eyes twinkling. "Mr. Finch-Fletchley, I do not know who or what was behind the break-in, but I can assure you that it wasn't the act of ghosts. And I certainly won't be teaching you what magics are needed to break into a bank. Shall we get back to our lesson then?"

By the end of the lesson everyone had broken into fits of laughter as they saw each other's hair. They had been practising smokescreen spells and Professor Dumbledore had been creating a great gust of wind every few minutes, making the whole class look as if they had been playing Quidditch around a tornado. Even Pansy Parkinson, who had spent the first few minutes looking scandalised, was giggling with the rest of the girls after a very fun lesson.

Harry and the others were packing up and about leave when the door opened and two men entered the classroom. Dumbledore's smile widened and they greeted each other, talking quietly so the class wouldn't hear. As a few of the students were leaving, they slowed down to try and listen to some of the conversation.

"Now, now, off you go." Professor Dumbledore leaned forward as the man with the shaggy black hair said something to him. "Mr. Potter... and Mr. Longbottom, stay behind a moment would you?"

The rest of the class were eyeing Harry curiously as they left and Neville came over and stood beside him. Harry noticed that Neville looked very reluctant.

The man with the black hair had a mischievous grin on his face and his grey eyes seem to look all over Harry. The other visitor had his black hair cut much shorter and was looking at the two students with an appraising look on his face.

"Mr. Pot- Harry, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Sirius Black and Mr. Frank Longbottom. They are Aurors with the Ministry of Magic." Professor Dumbledore introduced them.

Harry glanced at Neville, who had his back straightened and had a lack of expression on his face. Sirius Black stepped forward and offered Harry his hand.

"Harry! A pleasure to see you again." Mr. Black grinned at Harry's confused look. "When we last met, you were only a baby."

"Sirius and I were at school with your parents." the other Auror explained. "I was in a different year, but Sirius and your father were quite close, even after they left Hogwarts."

"Looks just like James did at that age," remarked Sirius Black. "But with Lily's eyes."

The three adults nodded as they looked at Harry. Auror Longbottom asked, "How are they in your class Aberforth?"

"They are two of the best students Frank, you should be very proud of your son." Neville beamed at this statement.

"I would be disappointed with anything less," the Auror replied and turned towards his son. "keep studying hard and you'll make a fine Auror one day."

Neville's smile slipped from his face. "Thank you father."

There was a moment of awkward silence afterwards. Harry said quickly "Are you here to visit Professor Dumbledore?"

"We like to visit him from time to time, to try and convince him to come back to law enforcement." Sirius laughed. "Best damned Auror there ever was!"

Professor Dumbledore just shook his head and smiled. "I'm too old for all that excitement. Better to leave it to you young ones."

Harry had to smile at that, only Dumbledore could get away with calling them 'young ones', especially with Harry and Neville standing just there. There was an impatient cough from the doorway. Harry turned and saw several goblins waiting outside the classroom.

"Aurors, we must really get going if we want to see the headmaster." one of the goblins croaked at them.

"Yes, we should." Frank Longbottom said. "Neville, I'll see you at Christmas. Mr. Potter, until next time."

The other Auror looked slightly annoyed and sighed. "I guess we should get going. Harry we'll catch up another time, Neville see you around as well."

"Goodbye Mr. Black, Mr. Longbottom." Harry said politely.

"Call me Sirius, Harry!" the Auror smiled at him. Harry definitely found Sirius a lot more likeable than his colleague. He thought that even Neville would agree as well, despite the colleague being his own father. The two Aurors left the classroom and led the goblins, probably towards the Headmaster's office. Harry and Neville said their goodbyes to the professor and headed towards Gryffindor tower. Neville was looking straight ahead and avoiding eye contact, he didn't seem to want to talk about his father. Harry kept quiet as well, wondering what goblins and Aurors were doing meeting the Headmaster.

* * *

The sightings of goblins had caused another surge of rumours amongst the students, most people suggesting that it had something to do with the break-in at Gringotts. With only one more lesson before the weekend, Harry's class arrived at the Great Hall to get some lunch. Harry split from the group and made his way to Ron and Hermione and sat down. His two friends seemed unusually quiet as he helped himself to some soup and crusty bread.

"Is everything alright?" Harry asked.

"Fine." Ron muttered. "Just had a bad lesson. Potions."

Harry turned to Hermione, who just shook her head slightly and picked at her food.

"Being in the same class as Hermione makes me the 'idiot Gryffindor', and Snape's enough of a git to tell me. Every. Single. Time." Ron stabbed his food with his fork.

Harry kind of understood what Ron was going through, Hermione was brilliant and he was happy for her but would hate to always be comparing his progress to her's. Even when they were doing homework together, sometimes it annoyed Harry that she seemed to know so much more than he did, even though they had found out about magic around the same time. Even though Ron had given Hermione sort of a compliment, she looked pretty miserable and was going slightly pink in her cheeks.

Harry wasn't really sure what he could say, it obviously wasn't Hermione's fault so he couldn't blame her. He also couldn't tell Ron to try working harder, no matter how hard anyone tried, Harry was sure there wasn't a single first year at Hogwarts that could catch up to Hermione's standard, even amongst the Ravenclaws. He tried to cheer Ron up by venting his own feelings about Snape, calling him a variety of things that made Ron crack a small smile. Soon after that he moved the topic to Quidditch, which his friend was always eager to talk about. Hermione even tried to join in, even though Quidditch and flying were things she didn't really know anything about.

They finished their food and left the Great Hall, Hermione mouthing a silent thanks to Harry, and headed towards afternoon lessons. They were going up to the second floor together and about to part ways when they heard a mischievous voice call out to them from above.

"Oooooh, hello firsties." Peeves the poltergeist cackled at them. They flinched and stood there warily eyeing the floating prankster.

"What do you want, Peeves." Harry asked as he held his bag out in front of him. Nine times out of ten, Peeves' idea of a good joke would be throwing something at their heads. "We need to get to class."

Peeves flipped upside down in the air with an expression of mock hurt. "I just wanted to help the ickle ones, just though poor old Peeves should tell you to wipe that black smudge off your noses."

Ron's wiped his face with the back of his hand, then turned to Harry. "What smudge?"

"THIS ONE!" Peeves screeched before throwing several ink pellets down at them. Both Harry and Hermione had been expecting this and managed to hold their bags up and block most of them, but Ron was a second too slow and was hit with several in the face. Peeves cackled gleefully while spinning in the air, blew a raspberry at them then vanished through the walls.

"That... that... that..." Ron was stunned, wet black ink dripping down his hair, face and all over his robes.

"Let's get cleaned up a bit before we go to class." Hermione suggested quickly, and led them down a corridor. Harry gently tugged Ron's robes after her, until they stopped in front of a door.

Harry stood there for a moment, he felt something strange, like he could hear something just out of reach. The most similar sensation he had felt was when he walked passed a group of ghosts with their heads held close together, whispering something that Harry could not make out, however close he seemed to get. He was wondering what is was when Ron, who was just about to enter, flinched back.

"What is it?" Harry whispered.

Ron blushed. "It's the girls bathroom."

"Don't worry Ron, no one comes in here if they can help it." Hermione said. "There's... well, there's a ghost in there."

"It's haunted?" Harry asked.

"Well the whole school is technically haunted, isn't it?" Hermione said. "It's just Moaning Myrtle, she's just a bit... gloomy so the girls don't like using this bathroom."

She quickly popped in and came back out. "There's no one inside Ron, most people will be going to lessons now, we'll be fine if we're quick."

Ron muttered under his breath but went inside. Hermione popped her head back out and looked at Harry.

"Er, I think I'll just get going, it's just a bit of ink on my hands. I'll see you later Hermione."

"Oh, Ron and I need to go to the library to check something out for Potions, meet us there?" her eyes were begging him to be there.

"Sure," Harry added a bit louder, "See you after class, Ron."

Harry heard Ron reply, but couldn't make out the words. Hermione nodded at him so he left to get to his Transfiguration class. He felt a bit sorry leaving Hermione alone with Ron right now, but he really wanted to get away from that place. When he reached his class Professor McGonagall took one look at him and waved her wand, instantly vanishing the mess that had been covering his hands and robes. Harry thanked her and hoped the professor in Ron and Hermione's class would clean them up as well, without causing too much of a fuss. This incident couldn't have been good for Ron's mood.

* * *

As he had expected, Ron had been in a worse mood than before when they met in the library. It wasn't helped by the fact that somehow Ron's twin brothers had found out about Peeves' little prank, and were there asking if 'ickle Ronniekins' needed help clearing up that smudge on his face. The professor had in fact, cleaned up Ron like McGonagall had done for Harry, but that wasn't really going to stop Fred and George. They were eventually kicked out by Madam Pince, the librarian, but the damage was already done.

On Saturday morning Harry woke up to find Ron had already left the dormitories so he went down to breakfast with Neville, Dean and Seamus. He met Hermione on the way, who had already finished eating, and was on her way to the library again. She said she didn't know where Ron was, but said she was really busy and rushed off. He was quite disappointed when he entered the Great Hall and couldn't find his friend there either, when the owls arrived.

The first time he witnessed this he was just about to enter the Hall, and caught sight of it just by the door. The sight of dozens of birds flying in through the windows had set him off into a panic and he managed to slip out quietly without anyone noticing. He soon found out that this was something that happened every day as most owls, including Hedwig, came to visit their owners even if they had no mail for them. He realised he would have to find a way to cope, as he couldn't wait until the birds left to get his breakfast, making him late for class, nor was he keen on waking up early every morning and wolfing down his food in minutes and leaving just as quickly.

So now when the owls started coming in, he would stare down at his porridge or toast or sausage and beans and hum tunelessly trying to think of anything other than the cacophony of birds flying around him. Hedwig seemed to understand his phobia and thankfully, didn't take it personally, and would patiently wait until he offered her a bit of his food and give her a stroke before flying away, back to the Owlery. This time, however, Harry was quite surprised when she held out her leg looking very pleased with herself. He quickly untied the bit of parchment and offered her some pumpkin juice, which she gladly accepted. Harry unrolled the parchment and read the untidy scrawl on it.

 _Harry_

 _I've been wondering how your first few weeks at Hogwarts has been, why don't you come by after breakfast? If you can't make it send a reply with Hedwig, if you can, just come on over._

 _Hagrid_

Harry smiled, it had been the first letter Hedwig had ever delivered to him. It made him a little sad but he had eventually gotten over the fact that there was no one who would send him a letter, his aunt and uncle certainly would not and everyone else he knew was already at Hogwarts. He thanked Hedwig again and picked up a rasher of bacon from a nearby plate for her. She hooted in appreciation and took off, with the bacon clutched in her beak.

Harry quickly finished the rest of his food and left the Great Hall and hurried out of the castle, into the grounds. He had a vague idea where Hagrid lived, but in the end had to ask a Hufflepuff fifth year, who told him where to go as soon as she stopped staring at his forehead. As he walked towards his destination, he was disappointed that he couldn't bring any of his friends to visit Hagrid. Harry had asked at the breakfast table if anyone had seen Ron, but no one knew where he was. Hermione seemed too busy to bother.

Harry had heard that Hagrid lived in a hut inside the school grounds and was expecting a modest looking wooden cabin of some sort, but when he got there he was pleasantly surprised. It was a rather large wooden building, at least two storeys high, looking rather jumbled but sturdy all the same. On one side of the cabin was a vegetable garden, with a variety of plants that Harry couldn't immediately recognise. He had worked in the garden at Privet Drive, but the Dursleys were more for pretty flowers and well maintained hedges, this place had a more practical feel, and Harry knew that whatever grew here might not immediately be pleasing to the eye, but would definitely be useful in some way.

On the other side of the house was a wooden paddock, which seemed to be empty at the moment. Harry smiled, wondering what kind of beasts Hagrid would keep there, looking forward to eventually taking his class. He walked up to the door and was just about to knock when it opened and he was staring down at a goblin. Harry muttered an apology and quickly moved to the side, the goblin merely nodded as if this was no less than he expected. Behind the goblin, he saw Sirius and Hagrid frowning at this.

"Harry, good to see you again." a smile formed on Sirius' face as he turned away from the goblin.

"Hello, Mr. Bl.. I mean, Sirius." Harry replied.

"Glad to see you could make it Harry," Hagrid said. "Sirius, you'll stay of course? You said you wanted a chance to catch up."

Sirius' face turned into a scowl. "There nothing I'd like more, Rubeus, but I have to get back. I have to give a report, and I... there's something else I need to look into. Another time, Harry."

Then someone, who Harry had not noticed, spoke up. "I'll walk with you Sirius."

It was the werewolf, Remus. He gave a brief look at Harry, but his face quickly turned expressionless as he left the house with Sirius.

"You'll be back though, right? I'm sure Harry would like to get to know you." Hagrid said, sounding slightly annoyed.

Harry nodded at Remus, who tilted his head slightly, curiously. "Very well, I'll see Sirius to Hogsmeade and come back afterwards. Just for a while, I have work to do, Professor."

"Hmph, Professor indeed..." Hagrid gave a small snort and watched the others leave his home, he then turned to Harry. "Right then, come on in and have a seat. I just need to let Fang out."

Hagrid left the room and Harry got a chance to admire the place. There was a large table in the centre of the room, with a very large and comfortable looking chair on one side, for Hagrid most likely, and several smaller ones as well. There was a nice fire going in the fireplace, which kept the room nice and toasty. On the ceiling several things were hanging, bulbs of what looked like garlic, a variety of herbs and also several dead rabbits and pheasants. All in all Harry felt this place was very homely.

Harry heard the sound of a distant door opening and then a booming bark, before a large black boarhound rushed towards him wagging it's tail. It skidded to a halt just before smashing into him and nuzzled it's head into Harry's hand.

"Don't you worry, Fang's well behaved. Had to keep him away, the goblins aren't really keen on him." Harry had been a bit shocked at the sight of the oversized dog running at them, but sighed in relief when he realised it was just a friendly greeting. "I'll make some tea."

Harry gave the fierce looking puppy-dog a pat on his head and sat down on one of the smaller chairs. Hagrid brought out his wand and flicked it towards a room to the side, there was a brief pause and then Harry heard the sound of a whistling teapot. At another wave of his wand, the steaming teapot, two mugs and several plates, one holding a cake zoomed in from the kitchen. Hagrid poured out two cups of tea, by hand not by magic, and offered Harry some cake. Harry accepted a small piece.

"So, how was yer first two weeks of Hogwarts?" Hagrid asked while taking his huge seat.

"It's been really good!" Harry then launched into what had happened during his first time at a magic school. It started mostly positive, but he slowed down when he started talking about his Potion lessons. "I don't think Professor Snape likes me very much."

"He's a bit of a character, I'll give you that," Hagrid said. "and you do create a bit of a reaction from those around you. He'll get over it like everyone else will. I heard even Albus Dumbledore came all the way from London to meet you."

"That was a bit of a surprise, I thought I was in trouble when Professor McGonagall told me she was taking me to see the headmaster." Harry gave an uneasy smile.

Hagrid chuckled. "Nah, if what I've been hearing about you is true, yer a good student Harry. Can't wait till I get a chance to teach you. I didn't hear from you in August and was hoping for the best, I hope your relatives didn't treat you too poorly?"

"Not after what you did to my uncle!" Harry laughed. "They were too scared to say a single word to me, they all pretty much ignored me until my uncle had to take me to King's Cross."

"Shouldn't 'ave done that, really." Hagrid mumbled. "Not that they don't deserve it, the way they treated you. But can't really go around using magic against defenseless Muggles."

Harry was still smiling. "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Too right you won't. Don't want people going around thinking I hate Muggles or something." Hagrid grumbled.

"Like..." Harry hesitated. "like Albus Dumbledore?"

Hagrid eyes went wide. "Now where did you hear that?"

"Just... I heard someone mention it." Harry said, avoiding Hagrid's eyes.

"Well don't go around saying that, talk like that could get you into trouble." Hagrid warned.

"Okay..." Harry took a sip of tea and had a bite of his cake. In his hurry to visit Hagrid, he had less breakfast than he normally did and was still slightly hungry. It didn't look as good as the desserts they had in the Great Hall during mealtimes, but it was moist and sweet and quite delicious. "This is really nice, Hagrid. Did you make it yourself?"

"I did, thank you." his beard twitched into a smile and then let out a booming laugh. "I almost had a falling out with Tom, Professor Riddle I mean, because of my cooking, you know."

"What happened?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well lets just say my cooking didn't always used to taste as good, I'll be truthful, it wasn't edible sometimes." he chuckled. "People would always be polite and try and eat some of my food, most would just try and sneak it away in their pockets and pretend they'd eaten it all."

"It can't have been that bad." Harry said. "Honestly this might not look that great, but it's one of the nicest cakes I've ever had."

Hagrid scratched his head in embarrassment and murmured a thanks.

"Well listen to this. I used to be old friends with Tom, used to go to Hogwarts together and once we both had jobs here, I used to invite him over here for tea quite often." Hagrid reminisced. "He was always polite, but one day he just got really angry and exploded."

"Really? I can't imagine him being angry, he seems like such a nice person." Harry said.

"Oh he can be angry when he needs to be and you don't want to be there when he does. I might be exaggerating it a bit though, it was a tussle between old friends." Hagrid chuckled. "He said, Hagrid, you are a very close friend to me, but I have to tell you the truth. Your cooking is terrible. I can't eat it. I don't want to eat it."

"Wow." Harry gasped. "And you started improving after that?"

"Not right away, I didn't take it too well. Didn't talk to him for a few weeks." Hagrid was still smiling. "But eventually, I got over it and put in a bit of effort that paid off. Invited him over again and he ate a whole cake with a huge smile. Been as close as ever since then."

Harry smiled at the thought. "Have you known him for a long time then?"

"Gosh, I came to Hogwarts over fifty years ago, he was already here then." Hagrid said. "He really helped me out of a tight spot when I was in my third year, been grateful ever since. Someone I can really call one of my closest friends."

Harry thought about Ron and Hermione, wondering if they'd still be friends in fifty years time. He frowned as he regretted not looking for Ron and not going to the library to convince Hermione to come with him.

Hagrid caught Harry's expression and said kindly. "Why don't you bring yer friends along next time you visit?"

Harry blushed slightly but nodded eagerly. He was glad when the door opened and Remus the werewolf entered the building.

"Cup of tea, Remus?" Hagrid offered. The werewolf just nodded and sat down, the furthest away from Harry as possible. Fang, who had been drooling with his head laid against Harry's robes, gave a friendly bark and rushed over to the new arrival. Remus smiled and scratched him behind his years, saying something in a low and warm growl. Harry just watched him sipping his cup of tea, as Remus was avoiding eye contact with him. There was a lot of rumours about the werewolf working in Hogwarts and a lot of students were wary of him, scared of him even, but Harry was sure he wasn't as dangerous as everyone made him out to be. Remus did nothing to quell the rumours however, and seemed to prefer keeping the students at a distance, but whenever Harry had seen him on the grounds he seemed quite at peace.

Hagrid cleared his throat at the uncomfortable silence and said, "Harry, this is Remus Lupin, he's the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Took over my job when I started teaching Care of Magical Creatures."

"Hello, Mr. Lupin." Harry said politely. The groundskeeper grunted a hello.

"He was at Hogwarts with your mother and father." Hagrid revealed, when it became clear Remus wasn't going to say anything on his own.

"Really? You were at school with them?" Harry asked excitedly. "You knew my parents?"

Remus was giving Hagrid a glare. Slowly he said, "I was... at school... with them. I knew them, your father more than your mother, but I knew them."

Remus turned to Harry and his eyes softened. "You really do look like James... but with Lily's eyes."

Hagrid chuckled, "He really does. Sirius said the same thing."

Harry remained silent, he didn't really know what to say. Hagrid had told him a few things about his parents, but they mostly concerned their fight against Grindelwald and the last moments leading to his defeat. He knew next to nothing about what they were actually like, especially what they were like when they were at school like Harry was.

"He and Sirius were some of the very few that that chose to approach me, despite my... condition." Remus gave a half-smile, the first Harry had seen him make. "I had very few friends during my time at Hogwarts, I'm proud to say your father was one of them."

Harry smiled. Although it might have been because he knew nothing about werewolves and the reputation associated with them, he had not dismissed Mr. Lupin outright as soon as he found out what he was. This little fact showed Harry that there might be something of his father inside him, more than the unruly black hair and glasses.

"What's it like being a werewolf, is it bad?" asked Harry, "I didn't know anything about them before I came here but everyone... I mean, I know you can't be bad, since you're friends with Professor Hagrid and I'm sure the Headmaster wouldn't allow you to stay here if you're a danger to anyone."

Remus Lupin looked surprised and stared at Harry for a moment and Hagrid gave a chuckle. When he didn't say anything for a long time Harry said, "I..I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked... I didn't know.."

"...No, it's fine. You just surprised me, that's all." Remus paused. "It's the first thing your father said to me, 'what's it like being a werewolf'. Word for word, no fear, no disgust, just genuine curiosity, like you."

He stroked Fang's head absentmindedly, eyes unfocused and lost in thought. "To answer your question, it's not that bad. Not as bad as it used to be anyway. A few days every month, I transform into a... beast. It's painful, but you get used to it. You lose yourself when you transform, you lose all your humanity."

Remus shuddered and his eyes found Harry again. "I used to lock myself in the basement here, and howl and growl and tear apart anything I could get my hands on. There's no cure for it, I doubt there ever will be, but there are potions now that can help during the transformation. As long as I take this potion before the full moon, I keep my sense of self, no more danger to others than Fang here."

"Hold on a moment." Remus got up and left the room. He was back within moments holding a piece of paper. He came round the table and held it out for Harry. Harry took it carefully and looked at it. It was a photo and like the picture of Albus Dumbledore on the Chocolate Frog card, it was moving. It showed three boys, all seemed to be about Harry's age, they had their arms around each others shoulders and were all sporting a grin. Harry's eyes went to the boy on the left side, a boy with messy black hair and glasses, and Harry instantly knew that this was his father.

"My.. my dad?" Harry's voice cracked. It had been the first time he had ever seen what his father looked like.

"It's him, Sirius and me. Hagrid took the picture for us a few weeks after we met." Remus said.

Harry studied the picture more carefully. Sirius Black still had that gleeful look on his face, his hair shorter than it is now, but still wavy and carefree. Remus Lupin seemed to have changed the most, as the boy in the middle was a skinny and sickly looking boy, even though his smile was as wide as his friends. The potion that Remus mentioned and his job at Hogwarts seemed to have done him a lot of good for his health but wondered why he had lost that shining smile. Harry also noticed that while his dad and Sirius seemed to be wearing the traditional Hogwarts robes, Remus' clothes seemed to be different, not as clean cut.

Harry cleared his throat and said quietly. "It's the first time I've seen a picture of my dad. Thank you Mr. Lupin."

"Call me Remus, Harry and keep the photo, I have others. I'll see if I can find some more, a few of your mother perhaps." Remus said kindly.

The photo he held was well worn and Harry could tell that it was something that the gamekeeper kept close and looked at often, he was genuinely touched by the offering. Hagrid was sniffing loudly and eventually took out a huge handkerchief and blew his nose. Harry was so grateful but all he could say was, "Thank you... Remus." he looked at the photo again and saw the three boys, all giving him a thumbs up with huge smiles on their faces.


	5. Year 1 - Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Dungbombs Flying Through the Air**

Harry spent a few hours in the company of Hagrid and Remus, asking about his father and mother during their time at Hogwarts. He was excited when he found out his father had been a Quidditch player for Gryffindor, perhaps the joy Harry felt when he got on his broomstick was something he inherited from him. He wanted nothing more than to stay the whole day, but just before lunch Remus got up and insisted that he had things to tend to, Hagrid as well. Harry reluctantly left when they told him that he would be welcome to visit any time during the weekends.

He kept the photo Remus had given him close by at all times, sneaking a look whenever he had a chance. He was glad he had it during the following weeks as it helped him through the trouble brewing between Ron and Hermione. Hermione had been right about one thing, once Harry got used to being in a magic school, everything seemed to click. Lessons became easier to follow and he got on well with everyone in his class, he was no longer Harry Potter, the 'Boy Who Lived' but just Harry. Malfoy was the only one still giving him trouble, but even this died down during lessons, as time passed.

From what Harry managed to gather about Ron and Hermione's class, it seemed that there was a bit of tension between those two, and it seemed to have spread to the rest of their classmates as well. The Ravenclaws in the class had taken Hermione's side and seemed to adopt her as an unofficial member of their house, the Hufflepuffs on the other hand were disgruntled that she seemed to be overshadowing everyone else, especially by taking all the house points on offer during their lessons. The Slytherins decided not to take sides and used Hermione's help when they needed it while still enjoying the company of the rest of the class.

They were polite enough with each other, especially while they were with Harry, who was trying his hardest to get them to reconcile and went out of his way to get them together as much as possible. Although Harry was already quite close with Neville, Anthony and Justin Finch-Fletchley from his own class (he still felt quite awkward talking to the girls), the two people he had first made friends with were Ron and Hermione and that, in his mind, made their friendship special. He wanted nothing more than to have a photo like the one Remus had given him, of Hermione, Ron and himself.

Two days before Halloween, they made their way down to the Great Hall where there was a general air of excitement. There was a slight change to the usual arrangements as a smaller table was laid out at the front of the Hall, just under the staff table, where eight students sitting, with the rest of the Hall's attention squarely on them. The hall itself was decorated, with huge jack-o'-lanterns grown from Hagrid and Remus' garden, cobwebs and eerie ghostly lights that floated high over their heads, all in preparation for the upcomiong Halloween feast.

Once they were all seated Professor Riddle stood up and the talking stopped. "Tomorrow the eight students seated here, and I, shall be leaving Hogwarts and travelling to southern France, to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, where one will be chosen as Champion and compete in the Triwizard Tournament!"

The hall burst into applause and the Headmaster waited until it stopped. "Eight exceptional students, each and every one of them deserving the title of Champion representing our school and nation. I give you..."

The Headmaster then introduced each of them to the Great Hall, pausing in between as the students clapped their congratulations, slightly harder for members of their own house. There were two Gryffindors, two Ravenclaws, one Hufflepuff and three Slytherins. Harry didn't know any of them but they all received his applause, even the Slytherins. Athough he wasn't on good terms with Draco Malfoy or Professor Snape, the fact that the Headmaster had been in Slytherin had done a lot to improve Harry's view of the house.

Like the start of year feast, the food appeared in front of them as soon as the Headmaster finished speaking and sat down, and Harry eagerly dug into his food, along with the rest of his house.

"Fred! George! I take it you didn't pass McGonagall's test?" someone shouted from the Gryffindor table.

Fred threw a roast potato at the person who said it. "Of course we didn't pass, you idiot! Or we'd be sitting over there looking down on you lot, wouldn't we!"

"Ah! But is was worth it just to see the expression on the Professor's face when we asked her to test us for the tournament. Next time we'll be ready for sure, wont we?" George laughed.

"Well then, a toast to the Hogwarts Champion of the future! The first Champion that wont be able to compete because he'll be serving detention!" a sixth year raised a goblet full of pumpkin juice and others followed suit. Fred and George toasted each other while laughing so much, that they got more juice on their robes than down their throats.

The joy in the room was infectious and it even allowed Ron and Hermione, who had been sitting on either side of Harry, to actually talk to each other without arguing. The evening ended with a literal bang, as a few of the potential champions opted to demonstrate their skills and the last one, a sixth year Ravenclaw girl shot a firework resembling a rhinoceros out of her wand, which flew through the air shooting out smaller jets of light from it's horn, until the whole thing exploded in a spectacular bang, showering the huge room with multi-coloured, but heatless, sparks. The Hall erupted in a rapturous applause while the girl gave a gracious bow and Professor Riddle eventually managed to call the prefects (and a few temporary ones taking the place of those about to leave) to lead the students back to their dormitories.

The next day, as Harry was going down to lunch, he noticed a lot of people moving towards the main entrance and out of the castle. Harry and his class followed them to find a large crowd had gathered there waiting for something, he also noticed the eight students from last night standing out in front with Professor Riddle. As he was about to ask someone what was going on, he heard a familiar sound from the distance, the sound of a steam engine.

It was the Hogwarts Express, as red and shiny as ever, flying through the air and coming towards them. As it came closer, Harry noticed that while the engine was the same, it wasn't carrying a long line of passenger cars as it had done when it brought them to Hogwarts, they had been replaced by two coaches, slightly longer but much more ornamented. They were simply black and white, but on the side had the Hogwarts crest proudly displayed, ornate, brightly coloured and visible even from a distance. Harry thought he saw something glistening on the side, but couldn't really tell what it was.

When it landed a few students gave a little cheer and moved forward to get a closer look. Harry managed to catch a glimpse into the window and had to rub his eyes in wonder as he saw a room with a large table, several bookcases, even some dummies that had targets painted on their torsos. There was no way that what he had just seen could fit inside one of those coaches, the room he saw must have been half the size of the Great Hall!

Professor Riddle merely gestured the Hogwarts delegation onto the train, he had already said everything he needed to last night. He paused a moment to place a hand on Professor McGonagall's shoulders and whisper something in her ear, she went slightly pink but nodded and said aloud, "I will take care of everything, Headmaster."

Riddle just smiled in reply and boarded the train. The students inside were leaning out of the windows exchanging a few final words with their friends and thanking others for their well wishes. Fred and George were there with a handful of fireworks, the gathered professors deciding to ignore it just this once. When they saw Harry look at them curiously, they offered him a few and told him to give the fuse a little lick to start it off.

The Headmaster produced his wand and tapped just the inside of the car, there was a light humming and two translucent silver wings sprouted from the side of the locomotive, that started moving up and down, faster and faster until it was an almost invisible blur. They seemed entirely too small, like the wings of a pigeon stuck on an elephant, but soon enough the train and the carriages started lifting up slowly. With a grin and a nod from the Headmaster, the Hogwarts Express shot up into the air while the gathered crowd cheered and the Weasley twins let off a load of fireworks, vanishing into the distance.

* * *

Harry left the Great Hall in a hurry, he could see Professor McGonagall watching him leave from the staff table and made a vague gesture trying to say he was fine but needed to go, he really needed to get to a bathroom. On top of the decorations he had already seen a few nights before, he walked in to the sight of hundreds of live bats flying across the room, to his slight unease, but was in a good mood all the same. He had been one of the earlier ones to arrive, so he sat down and tried to save a seat for Ron and Hermione.

When Ron entered the Hall, however, he gave Harry an almost apologetic look and then took a seat next to Fred and George. He kept waiting but even when the rest of the seats filled and the Deputy Headmistress stood up and announced the start of the feast he couldn't find Hermione. He looked around to make sure he hadn't just missed her coming in, even checking the Ravenclaw table to see if she had decided to sit with her friends in the house. Harry tried to catch Ron's eye, but he was determinedly ignoring him.

He hesitated a moment before leaving his plate empty and made his way to the Ravenclaw table. A few students were eyeing him curiously, but were too absorbed in the feast to give him more than a few seconds glance. He walked over to a first year who he thought was in Hermione's class, Sue Li if he remembered correctly. When he asked if she had seen Hermione, she gave him a worried look and told her she had an argument with Ron right after their class, something about Hermione helping Ron pronounce his spell correctly when he couldn't get it to work. Sue had tried to follow Hermione when she ran off with an upset look, but got held behind for a moment by her head of house.

Harry thought about where she might have gone to and remembered the haunted bathroom on the second floor, the one Hermione said people didn't like to use. He made his way there, took a deep breath in front of the door trying to ignore the vague mumblings he seemed to hear, and pushed open the door. His first thoughts on entering was that it indeed seemed like quite the gloomy place, although it seemed to be clean enough. The noise wasn't any louder, but it was still indistinct and it seemed to be coming from all around him.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he heard the sound of someone weeping gently. He called out carefully, "Hermione?"

There was a gasp of surprise and then a small voice, "Harry?"

"Hermione, come on out. You'll miss the Halloween feast." Harry said after sighing in relief.

There was a pause and a sniff, then Harry heard the sound of a toilet cubicle opening and Hermione stepped out in front of him, her eyes down and facing the floor.

"I heard what happened... I think, I'm not too sure what happened but... I heard you had an argument with Ron?" Harry asked when she didn't say anything.

"I was just... trying to help..." she sniffed. "I don't know what to do anymore..."

"I'm sure that he feels bad about what he said to you." Harry said truthfully, Ron had looked pretty guilty when he was sitting down next to his brothers.

"Why isn't he here then?" she said wiping her eyes, "I wish I was in class with you and not Ron.."

"Just give him a little bit of time, I'm sure he's sorry." Harry said.

Hermione looked up at Harry for the first time and saw him looking all around the bathroom, rubbing his arms as if he was very cold. She couldn't stifle a laugh, "What are you doing Harry? You're worse than Ron. There's no one here, not even Myrtle, you really don't need to act so tense."

"Can't you hear that, Hermione?" Harry shivered. "There's something in this room and I really don't like it. It's like someone whispering. _Something_ whispering..."

Hermione tilted her head and listened. "I can't hear anything... Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. I just... Let's just get out of here." Harry quickly left the bathroom, making sure his friend was following him. Hermione was looking at him with a worried expression. "Come on, we'll still be able to get some food, the feast only just sta-"

"AH-HA!" came a shout of triumph that made them both jump a foot into the air.

Argus Filch, the caretaker, walked over to them brandishing his wand threateningly, causing Harry and Hermione to take an unconscious step back.

"So... returning to the scene of the crime are we?" he spat at them, eyes bulging. "Get ink all over the floors and we'll just leave it here for Filch to take care of?"

Harry shared a guilty look with Hermione, but didn't dare admit to anything. Argus Filch was well known amongst the whole school for being a miserable old man, eager to catch any student with a toe out of line and threaten them with a variety of nasty punishments, although they were rarely actually implemented. He hated students and even if Harry told the truth and said that it had been Peeves throwing the ink around, he would never believe them.

"We don't know- OW!" Harry flinched back as sparks shot out of Filch's wand, it wasn't too painful but it had taken him by surprise.

"Empty your pockets now!" he snarled. "Ink pellets, dungbombs, fireworks in the corridors! I wont allow it! Empty them now!"

Harry's heart sunk as he carefully tried to feel the side of his robes with his elbow. The fireworks George and Fred had given him were still there, he had been too busy watching the train depart and had forgotten about them until now. He tried to look around to see some way out, but all he could see was Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, slinking near the end of the corridor, just outside the shadows, enjoying the scene unfolding in front of her.

Hermione had already turned out her pockets, she would never carry anything that could get her into trouble and she looked at Harry expecting him to do the same. Her eyes suddenly widened as she remembered Harry showing her the fireworks and realised he was still carrying them.

There was nothing else he could do, he put his hands in his pockets and was about to take them out when there was a small thud and then a loud angry yowl followed by hissing. Filch turned around to Mrs. Norris and saw that someone had thrown a dungbomb right in front of her, giving off it's noxious yellow fumes, the smell hit Harry and Hermione soon enough.

"Mrs. Norris!" the caretaker rushed to his beloved pet, Harry and Hermione forgotten at once. "Who's there! Is that you, PEEVES!"

Filch and his cat rushed around the corner shouting profanities towards the attacker, it was the only place where the dungbomb could have come from. Harry and Hermione only waited a second before turning around and running the other way. They were out of breath when they reached the Great Hall, but they were sure Filch wasn't following them. They were hungry after that little adventure and didn't notice Ron wasn't sitting at the table, until the red haired boy entered the room rubbing his hands on his robes. Ron saw the two of them sitting there staring at him and blushed, but gave them a little nod, before sitting back down next to his brothers.

* * *

Harry was sitting on his bed, in the Gryffindor dormitories, having a lively discussion about sports with his four friends. It was November, the start of the Quidditch season and the first inter-house match between Gryffindor and Slytherin would take place tomorrow. The three boys from the wizarding families, Ron, Neville and Seamus all had a lot to say about the subject. Harry and Dean Thomas, although they hadn't actually ever seen a game of Quidditch, were caught up in the huge build-up of excitement that was going around the school.

On the day of the match Harry found the Gryffindor team sitting together trying to have some breakfast. Passing members of their house were wishing them luck, as were some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, the Slytherins had a strong team and had won the Quidditch Cup for a few years now and the other houses were eager to see them lose. In the last match between the two houses, Slytherin had apparently 'flattened' Gryffindor and so even the perpetually jovial Weasley twins seemed to have a hard expression on their faces.

"Slytherin are down a regular Beater and Chaser," Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain tried to encourage them. "thank you Albus Dumbledore for bringing back the Triwizard Tournament."

"And we've been down a Seeker since Charlie left," Fred muttered. "No offense Alicia."

A girl sitting next to him with a sick looking expression just shook her head and didn't say anything. Wood kept trying to lift their spirits but gave up after a while and led them down to the pitch.

"I don't think I've ever seen your brothers look so serious, Ron." Hermione whispered as the two red-heads walked pass.

"It's Quidditch, Hermione, of course they're serious." Ron replied, looking just as serious.

After a while the three of them made their way to the Quidditch pitch and managed to find some good seats in the stands. Despite what Harry had just witnessed in the Hall, he was excited to finally see a match, instead of just hearing others talk about it. The players mounted their brooms and shot into the air, Lee Jordan, a friend of the Weasley twins, was giving commentary through a magically enhanced microphone. Madam Hooch, who was refereeing the match, blew her whistle and the match started. The crowd were going absolutely ecstatic and Harry joined in cheering the team with the rest of the Gryffindors.

"Alright there, Harry?" Hagrid was squeezing his way through the crowd, and sat down next to them.

"Hi, Hagrid." Harry said. "This is Ron (he muttered a quick hello, before returning to the game), and Hermione (she caught one look at his face a squeaked something Harry couldn't make out).

Hagrid gave him a smile, before turning to the game, "Not much happening yet right? How's the Seeker doing, Alicia Spinnet, wasn't it?"

"Not doing much yet, no sign of the Snitch." Ron said, then let out a moan as Slytherin scored the first goal of the match.

"She's a better build for a Chaser I reckon, shame they couldn't find a new Seeker this year." Hagrid said, "Been too long since I've seen my old house win the Cup."

Hermione squinted at the field "I don't see how anyone would be able to see such a tiny ball in all this-"

"Is that the Snitch?" Harry asked suddenly leaning forwards.

"Where?" Ron and Hagrid asked at the same time.

"Down by the Slytherin goal posts, just above the ground by the one on the left." Harry said excitedly. The students around him had heard him and were all facing that direction and pointing at where Harry was indicating, several of them had seen what Harry had seen, the tiny winged golden ball.

One of the Weasley twins had noticed them, as well as a Slytherin player, who had almost crashed into the Gryffindor stands trying to dodge a Bludger sent towards him by said Weasley.

"ALICIA!" the red haired Beater roared, pointing towards the Snitch, the Slytherin had done the same calling for his own team's Seeker.

Everyone was standing up now, shouting and waving their red and gold banners around, if she managed to catch it Gryffindor would win the match. Alicia managed to react slightly faster to her teammate's shouts than the Slytherin and was just slightly ahead, but then all hell broke loose. The Slytherin Keeper left his post and shot towards the Gryffindor Seeker, blocking her route, as she moved to avoid him someone in green and silver robes rammed into her side. The Weasley twins, who had seen this about to happen, tried to do the same to their opponents' Seeker, while an irate Madam Hooch was blowing her whistle loudly.

There was an angry cry from the Gryffindor supporters, as well as from the magically magnified commentator. Harry turned back to where the Snitch had been, but it had already disappeared. The referee awarded penalties to both sides and the game resumed.

"So close! We could have won if it wasn't for that..!" Ron said angrily but didn't complete his sentence.

"It's a shame." Hagrid was clearly trying to control his emotions, but seemed as annoyed as Ron was. "By the way, nice spottin' there Harry. If you'd been on the pitch, you'd been half way there before anyone noticed."

Ron turned to him excitedly, "Yeah it was! Try and see if you can find it again... Maybe if we can..."

Harry looked all over the field, trying to ignore what was happening between the players. Gryffindor managed to score a few more goals and Slytherin several, but there was no sign of the Golden Snitch. Hagrid grumbled something and got up.

"You're leaving Hagrid?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Er... yeah... erm... had too much tea this morning. Need to... you know." Hagrid said. "I'll try and be back before the end of the match."

Harry nodded and went back to looking for the Snitch. He checked the scoreboard, it was getting close to a dangerous score, a few more Quaffles and Gryffindor wouldn't be able to catch up, even if Alicia caught the Snitch. Then he saw it and held back a gasp. It was much closer to the Slytherin Seeker, if the Gryffindors stared and pointed at it this time, Slytherin would definitely get there first.

"It's near the Slytherin Seeker, a few feet above him." Harry whispered to Ron, who suddenly stiffened and tried to look at the player without moving his head.

"What do we do?" Harry asked, his eyes darting towards Alicia, who was looking in the complete opposite direction.

"I don't know..." Ron had seen the Snitch as well and was now staring intently at his brothers, as if trying to send them a message with his mind.

The end came all too soon. Before either of them could do anything, one of the Slytherin players had seen it and was shouting at his Seeker, who instantly flew towards the ball. Alicia turned to follow but was almost on the other side of the pitch and was only half way across when Madam Hooch blew her whistle to indicate the match had ended. Gryffindor had lost.

There was a roar of victory from the green and silver supporters and a much quieter moan of disappointment around Harry. Still, he had enjoyed himself and gave the Gryffindor players an encouraging cheer when they flew close to the stands.

"We should go tell Hagrid that the match ended." said Harry and he led the others away from the field and towards Hagrid's cabin. He knocked on the door and heard Fang's barks but nothing else.

"Hagrid? Remus?" Harry tried to shout over the barking dog, but there didn't seem to be anyone inside. He carefully tried to open the door but found it was locked.

"He did say he needed to go to the bathroom, didn't he?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," replied Harry. "and this place is much closer than the castle, I wonder where he's gone?"

"Maybe he went back to the match and we just missed him?" suggested Ron.

They looked at each other and laughed at the idea of missing someone the size of Hagrid. They didn't know where he was so it seemed pointless to wait for him here. They returned to the castle and walked into the entrance hall, there they saw the giant professor coming down the stairs.

"Hagrid! Where were you? We went to your house but you weren't there." Harry asked.

"The match already over then? Who won?" Hagrid asked, avoiding Harry's question.

"Slytherin won." said Ron miserably.

Hagrid muttered something under his breath. "Why don't you come over for a spot of tea? Tell me what happened after I left."

"More tea? Just after coming back from the bathroom?" Harry grinned but followed Hagrid back out of the castle.

Hagrid spun around and faced him, causing Hermione to squeal and jump back. "What are you talking about? How'd you know I went there?"

"You..you said you had too much tea and needed to go..." Harry stuttered.

Hagrid looked at him blankly for a moment. "Oh... right. Yeah I did. No, it's cold out I wouldn't mind another cuppa. Sorry, Hermione."

"No, I'm sorry Professor Hagrid." Hermione said quickly. "Harry's only said nice things about you, I shouldn't..."

Hagrid waved his hands and smiled at her, "Don't worry 'bout it. And no need to call me professor yet, you can do that if you ever decide to take my subject."

Hermione sighed in relief and the four slowly walked to Hagrid's place, Ron already going into the details of the Quidditch game. Fang once again greeted them with a booming bark and after giving Ron and Hermione a quick sniff, nuzzled his head against both of them.

"Harry's got a really good eye, Hagrid." Ron said eagerly. "He managed to see the Snitch before anyone else, both times!"

"You really do have a good eye." Hagrid looked at Harry. "Ever thought about trying out for the team?"

Harry blushed at the compliment. "Yeah, I've been asking Ron how much it costs to get a broom. I'm going to see if I can get one over the summer and I'll be trying out for the team next year."

"What about this year?" Hagrid asked him.

"I thought you weren't allowed to play in the first year?" Hermione asked.

"Not exactly," Hagrid told them. "first years aren't allowed their own brooms and the school brooms really aren't up to scratch. But I reckon even with a school broom, you might've been able to catch one of those Snitches, seeing as you found them before anyone else. Although..."

"Although?" Harry's heart was beating hard against his chest. However much he enjoyed watching the match, he felt he would have given anything to be flying there with his fellow Gryffindors.

"Well, I don't want to get yer hopes up or anything but..." Hagrid quickly said. "You're pretty good at flying right? You just had that bad business with the crow?"

Harry frowned and wondered why he was bringing that up. "Well, yeah I guess. I didn't really get a chance to do much but it just... felt right. Flying I mean."

"What are you thinking, Hagrid?" Ron asked impatiently.

"It's possible... Just possible, mind you, that if we manage to get permission from the Headmaster, and from Professor McGonagall of course, they might, just maybe, give you permission to have your own broom." Hagrid said slowly.

Harry's face split into a huge grin, he couldn't help himself, in his mind he already owned his very own broomstick. Hermione managed to contain herself, but Ron was already jumping in the air. Hagrid looked as if he regretted saying anything.

"Has it ever happened before?" Hermione was talking faster than normal and was betraying her excitement. "A first year getting permission for a broomstick?"

Hagrid reluctantly said. "It has happened before, yes. Once, just once, several years ago."

"Can we go now?" Harry stood up. "To see Professor McGonagall?"

Harry, Ron and Hermione managed to drag a very reluctant Hagrid along with them all the way to Professor McGonagall's office. Every step they took seemed to be a step closer to having an actual broom of his own and his friends were equally as excited for him. They knocked on her door and entered with her permission but as soon as they stepped inside all the certainty that had build up seemed to drain away.

"Professor Hagrid?" the head of Gryffindor house looked up at them with sharp eyes. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger. Is something the matter?"

"No Minerva, it's just Harry here." Hagrid scratched the back of his head. "We were watching the match..."

Harry and his friends stood there listening to Hagrid, barely able to breathe. McGonagall's eyes widened when she heard Harry had been the cause of the commotion at the Gryffindor stalls.

"Are you sure it wasn't just... luck?" the professor asked.

Before Hagrid could say anything, Ron took over. "No it wasn't! Harry saw the Snitch the second time, about two or three minutes before Slytherin caught it. He pointed it out to me, it wasn't just luck! Professor..." he quickly added.

She put down the quill she was holding and looked at Harry. "Last time you were on a broomstick..."

"I was just surprised, professor. I'll be able to keep on the broom if it happens again, I can show you if you could just give me a chance..." Harry pleaded. Ron and Hermione also asked her to give him and chance and even Hagrid, sensing a possibility that Harry might get a broom, begged her for the opportunity. She remained as sharp eyed as ever during all this.

"Very well, Mr. Potter." she said slowly, "However, I'm afraid I am busy today, there is a lot of work with the Headmaster away. Tomorrow morning, eight o'clock sharp, I will meet you down by the Quidditch field. We shall see if you are really as good as Mr. Weasley says."

* * *

"Mr. Potter, I would like a word please." Professor McGonagall said at the end of a Transfiguration lesson.

Harry's eyes shined as he stared intently at his head of house, the corner of her mouth quirked but she wasn't giving anything away. He had already been waiting for over a month for word as to whether he would be allowed to get his own broom. He had thought the test McGonagall put him through after the Gryffindor/Slytherin match had gone successfully. When Harry arrived at the Quidditch pitch that day with Ron and Hermione, the Professor was already there, but she had also called Madam Hooch and Madam Pomfrey. She had also brought along Oliver Wood, who in turn couldn't prevent the rest of the Gryffindor team from attending. Finally Hagrid, who had suggested Harry for the team in the first place, was there to cheer him on, along with Remus Lupin and Fang.

He was a bit intimidated by the size of the crowd, but Ron and Hermione gave his shoulders a little squeeze and he was ready to face whatever test McGonagall would throw at him. In the end he flew like he'd been flying all his life. Even the flying instructor, who had her wand out ready to catch him in case he fell, eventually lowered it and raised an impressed eyebrow. The Gryffindor team and Harry's supporters all whooped is joy at seeing his skills and all gathered around him as soon as he was back on the ground.

Even the normally composed Professor McGonagall seemed to have a hard time controlling the smile forming on her face, and within minutes he had joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team as their new Seeker, whether or not he had his own broom. Getting an actual broom, however, was taking Harry a lot longer than he would have liked. There had been several owls between his head of house and the Headmaster, but no permission yet and he had been told by McGonagall to stop asking her after every lesson.

In the second match of the season, Ravenclaw managed to beat Hufflepuff quite soundly and had another reason to hold their heads high this year. The Ravenclaw girl that had set off the fireworks in the Great Hall had, who Harry knew was named Sammy, been chosen as Hogwarts Champion, causing Professor Flitwick to topple off his seat when it was announced in the Great Hall the day after the Halloween feast.

Harry ran over to the Professor after shoving everything in his bag, but McGonagall just raised an eyebrow at him and waited until the rest of the class had left, Neville and Lavender giving him a smile on the way out. Oliver had wanted to keep Harry's place on the team a secret, but people had seen him practice and soon the word was out, even that he was trying to get permission to get his own broom.

When the last student had finally left, it was Malfoy who was giving him a scowl, Harry turned to McGonagall. "Am I allowed to get a broomstick, Professor?"

"I do not know, Mr. Potter," Harry looked dejected and McGonagall's mouth twitched. "but the Headmaster says he would like to speak with you."

"He's here?" hope entered his eyes.

"Yes, he had some business to attend to and has briefly returned to Hogwarts." McGonagall informed him. "The password is the same as last time, do you remember it?"

"Erm..." Harry thought back to that day, but it had been such a long time ago.

"Crotalus ruber." she said.

"Cro.. Crotalus ruber." Harry repeated. "I'll remember it."

McGonagall nodded, "Very good, Mr. Potter. Hurry along then, he is scheduled to return to France this evening."

Harry quickly walked out of the room, eventually breaking into a run after a sufficient distance away from the Transfiguration classroom. He found his way in the corridor with the gargoyle and looked around, he noticed a cat had been following him.

"Go away." he said to Mrs. Norris. "I have permission to be here."

Filch obviously knew who he was on their first encounter, there wern't many people in the school that didn't recognise him on sight, and although the caretaker didn't directly confront him about the incident at Halloween, Harry seemed to notice Mrs. Norris following him around a lot more. He walked up to the gargoyle and gave the correct password on his first try, ran up the rising stairs and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Harry went in and stood before the Headmaster, who was smiling at him. "Ah Harry, I've heard you've been having a very busy month."

"Yes sir." his heart was beating loudly.

Professor Riddle chuckled. "Well I won't torture you any longer, Harry. Minerva seemed to be very impressed with your flying abilities and even after attending Quidditch practice your grades seem to be fairly consistent."

Harry mentally thanked Hermione, he was sure his school work would have suffered if not for her help. "Yes sir, thank you Professor Riddle."

"I have also heard that you already discussed which broom you wish to purchase with Minerva," the Headmaster smiled at him. "I think you will have a Christmas present to look forward to this year."

"A broom? A Nimbus Two Thousand?" Harry asked excitedly.

Riddle just nodded. "Good luck Harry, your parents would have been proud."


	6. Year 1 - Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Christmas Presents**

From the moment he left the Headmaster's office, time seemed to slow down to a crawl. He had never received a Christmas present from anyone, excluding the toys that his cousin had broken and thrown away to make room for his new ones, and he hadn't really expected to get anything this year either, even though he was technically paying for it himself. He had never had a good Christmas, presents aside, even though the Dursleys allowed him to sit with them during Christmas dinner, Aunt Petunia grudgingly plated him only a tiny sliver of turkey and two chunks of roast potatoes, while making snide remarks about how grateful he should be. By the time he finished his single plate of food, he was more than eager to retreat back into his cupboard, where he wouldn't have to listen to his uncle's slurred insults or his cousin gloating about the many presents he received.

There were only a few people staying over the holidays, and Ron and Hermione weren't among them. Hermione was going back to her parents and Ron was going to stay with his uncle, while his parents were off to Romania to see his brother Charlie. When Ron heard Harry would be getting a new broom, he almost considered staying at school to get a chance to borrow it for a ride as soon as it arrived. Both Ron and Hermione felt quite bad about leaving him alone during the holidays, Ron even invited him over, but Harry declined, not wanting to impose himself on someone he had never met before. Ron and Hermione both left with an apologetic look on their faces, even though Harry gave them a cheery wave saying he would have his broom and he would visit Hagrid and Remus.

Harry spent the few days before Christmas quickly finishing any homework they were given, he wanted to get it out of the way. It took longer without Hermione around, but he eventually got it done and decided to spend his free time exploring the castle. He couldn't visit Hagrid and Remus as often as he liked, as they were both busy preparing Christmas decorations around the castle. Remus looked extremely sickly and pale when Harry had seen him, and when he asked if he was ill, got a one word reply, "Werewolf."

Harry started from the richly decorated Great Hall and tried to wander in a random direction, preferably going to parts of the castle he had not been to before. He was sure he was allowed to, as long as he didn't break into any of the professors' offices or locked doors, but he tried to avoid bumping into anyone whenever he could. In the end it turned into a little game of cat and mouse, with Harry playing the role of the rodent, as he tried to avoid Mrs. Norris who was avidly following him on his excursions. He was caught once or twice by the caretaker, summoned by his cat, but as he wasn't doing anything wrong and he didn't have anything incriminating on his person (he had hidden away the fireworks in his dorm room), Filch couldn't actually punish him for anything.

By Christmas day he hadn't found anything to boast about, but he became more familiar with the layout of the castle than before. He had also become better acquainted with some of the portraits and ghosts, which turned out to be a good thing as they were often helpful in pointing out lurking dangers ahead, mostly in the form of the caretaker or the school poltergeist.

He woke up early on Christmas day in an empty dorm room expecting a broom shaped package, but he was pleasantly surprised when he found that he had a few other packages piled neatly next to his bed. He tore open the long thin shaped one first and relished the sight of his brand new broom. It was sleek and shiny, with the words Nimbus Two Thousand engraved on the handle and he thought it was the most wonderful thing he'd ever seen. He turned it around to look at it from various angles and sat there admiring the thing for at least ten minutes, before he turned away from it to see what else he had been sent.

Hagrid had sent him several mini Christmas cakes with strange brown decorations (which he later found out were meant to be broomsticks) and a little hand whittled wooden flute. The next package contained a green sweater and a box of fudge, both homemade, with great care and Harry was wondering who had sent it when he found a note from Ron saying his mother had made those and wished him a Merry Christmas. The package from Hermione contained a similar note, along with a box of Chocolate Frogs.

To his huge surprise, he had also received a gift from Sirius Black, whom he only met very briefly. He opened it and was confused when he found what appeared to be a glass globe, with a little scarecrow in the centre of a snowy field. He frowned slightly, wondering if word of his first time on a broom had reached the Auror and he was being made fun of, when a little black bird suddenly shot out from the snow and the scarecrow turned to face it and blasted it out of the air with a jet of red light. Harry had to grin, it was pretty satisfying to watch.

The last package was from Remus and it contained a very old looking camera along with a note.

 _Dear Harry_

 _This is an old camera that I've had for a long time, it isn't the one that took the photo of your father, Sirius and me, but it's the one I got to replace it. It's quite old, but I've been looking after it so it should work fine and I've also sent a few rolls of empty film. Come see me or Hagrid when you want to get it developed, we'll help you work it out._

 _Merry Christmas_

 _Remus Lupin_

He sat on the floor staring at the note and he looked around at the pile of presents around him. He was glad then that there was no one else in the dormitories, because he couldn't stop the few tears rolling down his cheeks. He had never before felt this cared for in all his life.

* * *

He had originally planned to take his broom out for a spin that day, maybe quickly grabbing some food at the Hall without taking too much time, but that was before all the presents and the realisation that he had already made some very good friends. He didn't really know any of the students that chose to stay behind, but Hagrid and Remus would be at the Christmas feast and Harry decided that there was nowhere else he would rather be.

He spend a few minutes looking over his new camera, trying to work out how to use the thing. Harry had used cameras before, as he was the one that was always taking the pictures of the Dursleys whenever they wanted a family photo, but this one was different to the ones he had previously used. It definitely had an air of magic about it with various buttons and little switches that seemed to do nothing when Harry tried them out, it was also a lot bigger, but infinitely lighter, than anything he was used to.

He glanced at the letter from Remus, wondered briefly if it was too early to visit them, but got dressed and left the dorm with the camera and a roll of film. He walked through the snowy grounds and reached the house wondering if the occupants were awake. If they were still sleeping and he knocked, Fang would most likely wake them very loudly. He saw a wooden barrel on the side of the house under a window and carefully climbed on top, trying to get a glimpse inside.

He saw Hagrid's huge figure, sitting in his usual chair, sipping from a cup and reading a newspaper.

"Harry?" it wasn't loud, or accusatory, but it had surprised him nevertheless and caused him to stumble and fall off the barrel and to the ground. He got up, brushing off some snow that thankfully cushioned his fall, and looked up at a surprised Remus Lupin.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know if you were awake, didn't want to bother you if you weren't." Harry said quickly. "I just wanted to..."

He suddenly remembered why he was here and his hands shot out to the camera that had been hanging around his neck. It didn't look damaged, but there was some snow on it and he knew machinery and water didn't really go together.

"It'll be fine, it's charmed to withstand a little rough treatment." Remus reassured him. "Why don't we go inside, get warmed up?"

Harry followed the groundskeeper inside where he was greeted by Hagrid and Fang.

"Yer up early, aren't you?" Hagrid chuckled.

Harry grinned and held up the camera. "I just wanted to ask how you're meant to use this, it's different from the Muggle ones I'm used to."

"Oh right, it's pretty simple..." Remus spent the next few minutes explaining to Harry how to use the camera and what each of the buttons and switches did. "Flip this switch to take photos underwater, it's generally water-proof but if you want to stay down a long time... This is for taking photos at night or anywhere without a decent light source, using the flash is more reliable but it might come in handy someday..."

Remus kept listing the various uses and Harry wondered if he should write all this down somewhere. "What about that switch?"

"This one can apparently see... hmm... well it doesn't work, Sirius broke that one..." Remus mumbled vaguely. Harry listened and eventually put in the roll of film, following Remus' instructions. "I know it's a lot to remember, but just play around with it, without worrying too much about all the little bits and bobs."

Harry nodded in agreement, as long as he could take photos he didn't need to worry about the other buttons. When would he ever need to take a photograph underwater or in the pitch black darkness? He took a gulp of tepid tea that Hagrid offered earlier and sat back in his chair.

"Oh." Harry suddenly said almost to himself. "I haven't thanked you yet."

Remus turned his head, looking away from Harry as if embarrassed. "It's really not much, I haven't used it in years."

"No, it's brilliant. Thank you Remus." Harry said genuinely. "And thank you Hagrid, for the cakes and the flute."

"It was nothing." Hagrid said gruffly.

"Did you get something from Sirius? He mentioned he was planning on sending something, but wouldn't tell me what it was." Remus asked with a slight frown.

"Yeah, I was really surprised he sent me something, I know he was my dad's friend and all, but still..." Harry said.

"It wasn't... anything dangerous was it?" Remus asked tentatively.

Harry laughed. "No. It was a snowglobe." Harry explained to them what the little scarecrow had done and they all had a little laugh.

"Sounds like something Sirius would send." Remus chuckled.

"Why would you think he would send something dangerous?" Harry asked curiously.

"He likes his little jokes, like someone half his age. I just thought he might have sent you something... unsuitable for an eleven year old." Remus said with a slight smile. "Thinking about what we got up to when we were at that age..."

Hagrid snorted with laughter at the comment and they spent a while more talking and close to lunchtime made their way to the Great Hall. When they entered the castle, they came to a stop as they saw two wizards standing there talking.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Hagrid said. "And Mr. Dumbledore, Merry Christmas to you both."

Seeing them side by side, Harry could definitely see the family resemblance. The professor greeted him cheerfully and the Ministry wizard watched him curiously.

"Ah! Harry, Rubeus, Remus," Professor Dumbledore nodded at each of them in turn. "Happy holidays to you. The Christmas feast should be starting soon, you should head on over to the Great Hall."

"You won't be joining us then, Professor?" Hagrid asked, glancing at Albus Dumbledore.

"No, I'll be spending the day with my brother and his family." the Professor replied.

"Mr. Potter," Albus Dumbledore was staring at Harry. "You haven't gone home for the holidays?"

"Erm... No sir." Harry said carefully. "I.. There were things I wanted to do at school, so I decided to stay."

Dumbledore just nodded at him, face remaining expressionless. His brother gave a little cough and Mr. Dumbledore turned away from Harry.

"Well, we should be going Albus. Where is..." Aberforth Dumbledore looked around. "Ah, there she is."

Harry looked at where the Professor was facing and saw a witch walking into the entrance hall. She was wearing robes of red and green, reminding Harry of the Christmas decorations that were hanging all over the castle, but despite the seasonal look, she had a serious expression and strode in with an air of absolute confidence and stood besides the two elderly wizards. Her hair was long and blonde, flowing all the way down to her waist and her eyes were the exact shade of blue as the two Dumbledores standing beside her. She gave Hagrid and Remus and polite nod, but her eyes widened slightly when she saw Harry.

"Kendra, there you are." Albus said, with much more warmth than he even showed when speaking to Harry. "You've been some time."

"I'm sorry, father." the witch replied, her eyes still on Harry. "It's been so long since I walked these halls, I spent some reminiscing."

Professor Dumbledore chucked and turned to the three watching them. "Gentlemen, may I introduce my niece, Kendra Dumbledore."

Hagrid and Remus introduced themselves politely but before Harry could open his mouth the female Dumbledore inclined her head and said. "Harry Potter."

"Uh, yes." Harry thought that she was a lot like her father, the way their eyes seem to bore into his mind. Then her mouth turned into a small smile.

"Uncle Aberforth did tell me you were among his students. One of his best if I'm not mistaken." she glanced at her uncle, who merely chuckled lightly. "I am expecting great things from you Mr. Potter, many of us are."

"Oh, thank you.." Harry just said. It had been a while since someone talked to him as the 'boy who lived' and it still felt extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound so... grand." Kendra Dumbledore laughed. "We should go now uncle, father."

The Dumbledores all said their farewells and left the castle.

* * *

The Christmas feast was a grand affair. The long house tables had been replaced by a large circular one where about a dozen students and the remaining staff took a seat to enjoy the roast turkeys, boiled potatoes and everything that Harry had always imagined people ate during Christmas, but never tried himself. As it was hard to reach the food in the centre of the table, the plates were enchanted to levitate and dole out portions to anyone who asked. It felt slightly awkward, asking for turkey out loud to no one in particular, but eventually everybody was doing it and Harry felt no hesitation in asking for a sample of everything.

By the time the desserts vanished from the table, Harry was full to bursting and almost felt like he wanted to do nothing more than collapse on his bed and wake up after Christmas ended. Almost. He still had one thing he wanted to do, he was almost surprised he managed to hold out for this long, so were a few people sitting around him, who had expected him to spend the morning in the air. He walked quickly back to the dorms (he would have ran if he could have been sure he wouldn't vomit on the way), telling Remus and a very drunk Hagrid that he would meet them on the Quidditch field. He stored the camera carefully away in his trunk, grabbed his broom and went back down, leaving behind a very red faced and giggling portrait of the Fat Lady.

A thick layer of snow had covered the pitch, but the sun was out and was warming him slightly. He showed a curious Remus the Nimbus Two Thousand, but not Hagrid, who Remus pushed away saying he might accidentally snap the broom if he held it in his current state. Hagrid just laughed it off but kept away, choosing instead to cheer Harry onto the broom with his booming voice.

He mounted the broomstick and he thought he could feel the wood underneath him humming with anticipation. He pushed himself off the ground and once again closed his eyes to feel the wind rushing on his face. He couldn't help but laugh with delight, Hagrid was right, the school brooms were nothing compared to his new Nimbus. It was absolutely effortless, the slightest touch allowed him to change directions mid air and fly in the opposite direction with hardly a dip in speed. He felt so confident, he attempted a particularity dangerous move, a near vertical dive at high speed before pulling back a few feet above the ground, causing Hagrid to bellow out a swear.

On the days he decided he didn't want to fly (there had been one or two), he spent some more time exploring the castle trying to find the hidden rooms or secret passageways he had heard the Weasley twins mention in passing.

He spent the rest practising his flying techniques mostly by himself sometimes with one or two people watching, Professor McGonagall even joined him one day and helped him recreate some Quidditch conditions. She transfigured some wings onto a small rock to fly around like a Snitch and charmed a snowball to try and crash into him, although not hard enough to hurt him like a real Bludger would. When he landed on the ground after catching the rock-Snitch for the tenth time, Professor McGonagall told him that the real Snitch and Bludger would both be moving much faster telling him not to get overconfident, but she couldn't help smiling at the change she knew was coming to the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

On one cold and rainy day he looked out the window, disappointed with the weather. Harry then remembered something Ron had said, that Quidditch is played regardless of rain or storm and matches were only postponed in a life or death situation and sometimes even not then. He gripped his broom and ran out into the rain, determined not to let his team down when they return in a few days time. Rain pelted his body, soaking him completely but he managed dodge a few sleety clumps of snow he enchanted to fly towards him. Professor McGonagall had taught him the spell and Harry managed it after a few days practice.

Harry's hands eventually became too numb to hold his broom and he failed to avoid several snowballs making him decide to return to his room. By the time he reached the ground, his wet robes were clinging onto his thin frame and he was shivering uncontrollably. As he entered the castle he noticed that he was leaving behind a trail of water, but he was too cold and tired to care, but he quickened his steps and kept a sharp lookout for Filch the caretaker or Mrs. Norris.

He reached the Gryffindor tower without much hassle, apart from an admonishment from the portrait of the Fat Lady, for getting some water on her painting. He stepped into the shower and quickly sighed in pleasure as the hot water removed the chill from his skin and bones. The last thought he had before falling asleep was that perhaps he wouldn't fly tomorrow, maybe he would wander the castle again.

Perhaps this was why he was dreaming about the Hogwarts corridors, Harry seemed to be vaguely aware that he was asleep but there was a strong sense of reality about what he was experiencing. He thought he recognised many places as parts of the castle he visited during the Christmas holidays, but not others, honestly though he couldn't really tell. Through the vague hazy filter of his dreams, one stone corridor looked exactly like another.

He woke up drenched in sweat and shivering and his mind felt very foggy. He had caught a cold. He considered going to the hospital wing, but instantly changed his mind as he remembered how he was treated the last time he was there. He might have gone to Madam Pomfrey if there were lessons to go to, but he still had a few days until the end of the holidays and he thought he would have plenty of time to recover.

He woke up as early as his body would allow in the morning and took a hot shower, before going to the Hall for a light breakfast. He brought back some toast and fruits to his room, so he wouldn't have to go back for lunch or dinner. He told a worried Hagrid that he was spending time in the tower, catching up on homework and doing a bit of extra reading. He wasn't exactly lying, he did spend time reading his school books, or he tried to. He usually ended up staring at a single page for hours without taking anything in.

When he closed his eyes, he went back to his dreams. Sometimes they would start with Quidditch, on his broom and flying through the air reaching for a Golden Snitch, while trying to avoid snowballs, Bludgers and even crows hurtling towards him. Eventually though, he ended up back on the ground and inside Hogwarts castle wandering the corridors. He woke up from one of these dreams when four boys entered the dormitories, talking about how they spent the holidays and what presents they received.

Ron noticed Harry sitting up on his bed looking pretty dazed. "Are you alright, Harry? Did we wake you?"

Harry grabbed his glasses from the side table and put them on, "I'm fine, I was just about to go to sleep. How was your Christmas?"

The five boys spent some time talking and comparing presents, spending a lot of time looking at Harry's new broomstick. They all had an expression of awe when Harry described how well the broom handled in the air. Harry was back in his bed and drifted to sleep while hearing his friends discuss the possibility of Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup.

* * *

Term started again, with Harry recovered from his cold, which he was thankful for as the new year seemed to be busier than the last. Spells they learnt during lessons became slightly more complicated, and Oliver Wood called for more practices to prepare Harry for the upcoming match against Hufflepuff. The Quidditch captain was ecstatic to learn Harry had been practising during the holidays and impressed with the progress he made. The Weasley twins were already dancing around saying that they this was the strongest Gryffindor team in a long time and that there was no way they would lose the match.

Harry laughed nervously at this. He did think he was a good flyer, and a slightly better Seeker than Alicia, but he wasn't sure how he felt having to do all that in front of an audience. All the nerves about the upcoming Quidditch match was good for one thing though, it made him forget about the dreams that he was having. They were still the same dreams, not bad or scary, but it left him tired when he woke up and the fact that he continued to have the same dreams over and over again was starting to become slightly unsettling.

The week before the match, Harry had a rare evening off as Fred and George were in a detention and the rest of the team demanded Oliver that they needed a day to catch up on their schoolwork. Harry was just sitting back on a plush chair in the common room watching Ron and Hermione play a game of chess.

Harry looked around and made sure there was no one nearby before saying quietly, "Ron, Hermione. Ca..can I take a picture of you guys?"

Ron just shrugged and nodded but Hermione looked down at her robes making sure it looked presentable. "What, now?"

"Yeah... All three of us I mean, I want to ask Hagrid or Remus to take it for us. Like the photo of my dad..." Harry's cheek went slightly pink.

It had already been over a month since he received the present, but he hadn't yet taken any photos with it. Harry had decided from the moment he had the camera that the first photograph he would take with it would be him and his two best friends standing together outside Hagrid's cabin. He had been meaning to ask for weeks now, but felt embarrassed and was glad when they didn't make a big deal out of it, he had shown the photo of his dad, Remus and Sirius to Ron and Hermione and they both knew how much that photo meant to Harry.

Harry and Hermione quickly ran up to their dorms, Harry to get the camera and Hermione to check herself in a mirror, Ron stayed in his chair and studied the chessboard until his friends returned.

The three of them left the Tower with a light step and made their way towards the castle entrance. But before they could leave they were stopped by three Slytherin boys, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.

Harry ignored them and tried to move around Malfoy and his cronies, but they just stepped sideways blocking his path. Harry glared at them, "What do you want Malfoy?"

"What do you mean, Potter? I don't want anything from you, this is a public place and I'm allowed to go wherever I want." Malfoy drawled, his two Slytherin friends sniggered behind him.

"You're blocking the corridor." Hermione said indignantly. "Just move out of the way."

Malfoy just ignored her. "What have you got there, Potter? An ugly old camera, it looks like something that should have been thrown out twenty years ago. Let me guess, a present from the Weasleys? Cheap, rubbish tat like everything else they own."

Ron jumped at Malfoy, but was pushed back when Crabbe stepped forward with a smirk and blocked him. Harry quickly looked around, the corridor was empty, apart from... Harry thought he saw Filch's grubby robes disappearing around the corner, perhaps he was just happy to see someone giving Harry and his friends trouble. The only other thing moving was a portrait of a young girl, a shepherd, watching her sheep grazing on a green field by a lake. It was one of the portraits that he had befriended during Christmas, and she looked at him worriedly before giving him a slight nod and disappearing to the side of the painting.

Harry pulled Ron back until they stood side by side, "At least I didn't get into detention for throwing a tantrum in class."

Malfoy's pale face went bright red and his eyes narrowed. After the school found out about Harry's new broom Malfoy had tried to do the same thing and get permission to have his own sent to the school. The head of Slytherin, the Deputy Headmistress, although with much less enthusiasm than with Harry, along with the flying instructor all put Malfoy through the same tests Harry had gone through. Hagrid had seem him fly from his house and told Harry that Malfoy had done a lot worse than him, even having to be rescued when he almost fell off his broom after a sharp turn. Despite this, Malfoy had insisted that McGonagall send an owl to the Headmaster as the final decision would lie with him, Malfoy had obviously hoped a Slytherin headmaster might be more willing to give him permission.

Like Harry, Malfoy was told by McGonagall to stay behind after class and he strutted up with a triumphant look on his face. Harry left the classroom, but before he could take three steps there was a shout from Malfoy, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE DIDN'T GIVE ME PERMISSION?"

Harry's class stopped to listen to Malfoy shout at the Deputy Headmistress, everyone was staring at the door, apart from Pansy, who scowled at Harry, as if it was all his fault.

"MY FATHER WILL-"

"Mr. Malfoy!" McGonagall's cut Malfoy's words mid speech. The three Gryffindors flinched, as they knew more than the others, what that tone of voice meant. They listened more carefully but McGonagall didn't have to shout to get her words across. They all jumped back when the door slammed open and an incensed Draco Malfoy stood there, he gave Harry a look of pure loathing and his shaking hands moved towards his robes. He pulled out an inch of his wand when McGonagall spoke from the classroom.

"I expect to see you here tomorrow, Mr. Malfoy, or you will not be a student of this school any longer. Do I make myself clear?" McGonagall said evenly.

Malfoy was still staring at Harry, but with gritted teeth he turned to look at the Professor and gave her a curt nod, before pushing aside the group of students and quickly walked away. Harry and his friends were happy to see him knocked down a peg, but if he thought this would mean Malfoy wouldn't bother him any longer, he was sorely mistaken. He kept quiet during lessons, but this was the third time this week that Malfoy had challenged Harry in an empty corridor.

"You're nothing but a scar-headed freak." Malfoy said menacingly. "The professors might show you favouritism but I know you're just a nobody who got lucky one too many times."

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything Malfoy jumped forward, grabbed the camera and pulled it off Harry's neck. Harry jumped forward like Ron had done, but once again was pushed back by Crabbe, slightly harder this time, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Give it back." Harry said angrily, as Ron helped him up. Hermione was standing behind them, anxiously wondering if she should run and try and find a teacher.

Malfoy just smirked at him the threw the camera against the stone wall, Harry stared in horror as he saw bits of plastic break off and clatter against the ground. Malfoy looked smug and both Crabbe and Goyle were howling with laughter, so this time when Harry jumped at them with a shout only Malfoy had time to react, but that wasn't enough. By the time Goyle was pulling Harry off of his blond haired friend, there was a trail of bright red blood leaking from his nose, all over his face and onto the ground. Harry swung his elbow around catching Goyle's face, and was back on top of Malfoy raising his hands for another punch.

"MR. POTTER!" a sharp voice shouted, and Harry was pulled back by an invisible force away from the bloody boy on the floor. He turned around and saw Professor McGonagall dashing towards them with an angry look, but Harry didn't care. Whatever punishment he got for punching Malfoy would be worth it.

"It wasn't Harry's fault!" Hermione quickly defended her friend before McGonagall said anything else, "Malfoy started it, he took Harry's camera and smashed it against the wall!"

The Professor quickly looked at the remains of the broken camera and the expressions of the six students in the corridor. "Mr. Goyle, take Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing. Mr. Crabbe, find Professor Snape and explain what has happened. As for you three..."

Harry glared at the three Slytherin boys that were leaving, Malfoy turned around and gave Harry a smirk though his bloody nose.

"-were you thinking, Mr. Potter. Mr. Potter!" Harry flinched and turned back to the Professor.

"The camera was a present... It was very important to me..." Harry turned away from the professor and stared at the floor, tears stinging his eyes.

Professor McGonagall remained silent for a moment. "That may very well be, but we do not resort to violence to settle disputes, for whatever reason. You attacked another student and that is a very serious offence."

Harry remained silent, not daring to look up. He took a deep breath and tried to will the tears from his eyes away.

"Your detention, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said firmly. "will be next Saturday morning."

Harry just nodded before he realised what that meant. His head jerked up and he stared at the Professor's eyes. "Saturday? That's.. that's the day of the Quidditch match?"

Harry thought he saw a brief look of sympathy appeared on the Professor's face as she looked at Harry's glistening eyes, but she remained steadfast. "Yes it is. You will not be playing that day."

"No!" Ron shouted. "It's not his fault! Why is he being punished for something Malfoy started?"

"As I have already said, Mr. Weasley, he attacked another student and drew blood. I assure you, I take no pleasure in punishing Mr. Potter like this, but perhaps next time he will think before resorting to such drastic measures." Professor McGonagall pointed her wand at the broken camera on the floor. " _Reparo_. Here you go Mr. Potter."

Harry stared numbly at the camera McGonagall placed in his hands, it was completely fixed.

"Mr. Malfoy will be punished for his part in this." she tried to console them, but they all knew whatever Malfoy got would be nothing compared to Harry's punishment. "Perhaps you should return to the common room."

She turned around and left them standing there, Harry was still staring at the camera wondering how the day had gone all wrong. He had just wanted to take a photo with his two best friends, but it had turned to the worst day since he arrived at Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione gently tugged Harry into walking back towards Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

The reaction from Harry's teammates were as expected, no one blamed him for it though, not after seeing the look on Harry's face. Oliver Wood came close to shouting at him but after an angry look from the three Chasers, he backed down instead choosing to confront McGonagall about her decision. Harry didn't get his hopes up, so he wasn't disappointed when the Captain returned with his head hanging and muttered to Alicia Spinnet that she would be playing Seeker again for the next game.

Malfoy had also received detention and would be serving it with Snape the same time as Harry, but he showed no sign of being unhappy about this. Every look he gave Harry was unbearably smug, although he did nothing more than that. He had been warned by Professor McGonagall to keep away from Harry and any action that deliberately provoked him would lead to more punishments.

The stress and the slow burning anger had made his way into his dreams and now he was moving faster than ever, seeming desperate to find something. He wondered if he was looking for Malfoy to exact revenge on him, and as soon as the thought entered his head the blond boy was there sneering and laughing at him. One particular night he had been chasing something in his sleep and was startled awake when he walked pass some polished glass and a wrinkled, pouchy old face looked back at him.

"Whatsgoinon?" Ron muttered when he heard Harry shout.

"Bad dreams again," Harry said quietly, in case he woke anyone else. "Go back to sleep Ron."

He told his friends about the dreams when Hermione confronted him about the circles under his eyes. They were both worried, suggesting Harry go to Madam Pomfrey, but Harry told them it was just stress and made them promise not to tell anyone.

On Saturday morning as Hermione and Ron left the Hall to go watch the match, Harry made his way towards the Transfiguration classroom. When he knocked and entered, Professor McGonagall directed him towards a seat close to the front. She didn't give him lines or do any menial work, but allowed him to get some homework done, she knew that just being here was more than enough punishment. Harry worked silently for an hour, looking up from his work when he heard the muffled sounds of Lee Jordan's commentating or the cheers and boos from the students, but however much he tried he couldn't tell what was happening.

Harry's quill remained unmoving on his hand for several minutes, "Mr. Potter, how is your camera?"

"I don't know, professor, I haven't had a chance to use it yet." Harry said, he didn't want his first photograph to be tainted by memories of his anger against Malfoy.

McGonagall nodded at him, "I heard from Professor Hagrid about the camera. If it doesn't work bring it to me, I have a friend who could help if it needs repairs."

"Thank you Professor." Harry looked back down at the parchment on his desk.

"Harry." Professor McGonagall said, her voice slightly less strict, "I know you are disappointed..."

Harry kept his eyes on his desk.

"Try and remember you are still have a final match against Ravenclaw, and six more years playing Quidditch after that. I won't say Quidditch is not important, but you are here at school not only to learn how to use magic, but to learn how to act as a member of a larger community."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall." He understood what she way saying and he knew she was right, but that didn't seem to stop his anger towards her. He always thought her strict but fair, however, stopping him playing Quidditch hardly seemed fair to him, especially when he pictured Malfoy's sneering face.

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Very well. If you leave now, you may be able to watch some of the match."

Harry slowly put his homework in his bag and with a quiet, "Thank you, Professor." he left the classroom.

He didn't go out of the castle, but wandered around without paying much attention to where he was going. He came to a sudden stop when he noticed Hagrid's hulking figure come out of a room, through a huge door. Harry quickly turned back around the corner, not wanting to talk to Hagrid right now. He wondered where he was, he had never seen a doorway that large in the castle before. When Hagrid stepped out of the room, he turned around and waved his wand at the entrance where it shrunk until it reached a size more familiar to Harry, he quickly looked around and realised that was the girls bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle.

After Hagrid left, Harry stood in front of the door still hearing the whisperings, wondering what on earth the giant professor was doing in there. Did he keep some kind of magical creatures in there?


	7. Year 1 - Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Hagrid's Story**

Harry didn't sulk for too long. Gryffindor managed to beat the Hufflepuffs with Alicia just managing to catch the Snitch to win the game. The team relished the victory but started once again training for the final match against Ravenclaw, even though it wasn't possible for Gryffindor to win the Quidditch Cup by now. No one mentioned Harry's incident with Malfoy during these training sessions, but Harry noticed that sometimes between classes, he would run into one of his teammates who would walk with him to the common room or to his next lesson.

It was frustrating at first, it felt like the older students were babysitting him, but in the end he just sighed and accepted Oliver Wood's determination to see Harry finally get a chance to play during the last game of the year.

Quidditch was the one thing that brought out intense rivalry between even the friendliest of houses, and it wasn't something the Professor Riddle and his ideas of inter-house cooperation could stop. Ron's attitude towards Quidditch was the norm and it wasn't uncommon for students to nurse sore throats from all the screaming and shouting they did during matches. Even so, most of them thought even the worst rivals playing Quidditch could be friends outside of matches and Harry had people from other houses walking up to him offering sympathies and wishing him genuine luck during the next match.

"Are you practising again tomorrow?" asked Anthony Goldstein as they left the classroom.

"No, I've got a day off. I'm planning on visiting Hagrid though." Harry replied.

Harry's friendship with the Professor was common knowledge by now and there were a lot of people who thought him strange for it. Since the first years didn't take classes with him, most of them didn't have a chance to get to know Hagrid and only saw his terrifying exterior. It also didn't help that the Professor seemed to be living together with a werewolf, even though many considered it a part of his job description, as the Professor of Care of Magical Creatures.

"He's so... Aren't you scared of him?" Anthony asked, shivering slightly.

"No, he's a really nice person." Harry said, trying to mask the annoyance he felt. It was quite a common question he was asked whenever he mentioned Hagrid.

But Anthony seemed to sense something in Harry's tone of voice and said slightly apologetically, "Can I come with you? I'd like a chance to meet him."

Harry was surprised but pleased. "Sure, Hagrid wouldn't mind."

They next morning six students made their way out of the castle towards Hagrid's hut, they met Sue Li and Ernie Macmillan from Ron and Hermione's class, who wanted to come with them when they heard where they were going. Sue had become quite good friends with Hermione during her little spat with Ron and was still close after everything was patched up.

When they got there, they found Hagrid standing over some kind of brown horse, with white patches on it's side, in the paddock that had been empty during Harry's previous visits. As Harry and the others approached the edge and stood by the fences, the professor took a step back and seemed to wait for something. The horse took a few tentative steps, then cautiously... spread it's wings. At the sounds of gasps behind him, Hagrid turned around and was surprised for a moment, seeing so many young students, before he noticed Harry.

"Jus' give us a moment, Harry!" Hagrid gave them a cheerful wave. He turned back to the horse and carefully examined one of it's wings, which Harry noticed seemed slightly bent. Hagrid then took something out of his pocket and held it out for the winged horse, who sniffed it for a moment before swallowing it eagerly. He gave it a gently pat on the back then started walking towards Harry and the others.

"Wasn't expectin' so many of you!" Hagrid chuckled, then added seeing the look on Harry's face. "No worries, no worries! Glad to see you making friends."

Harry was relieved, he had been slightly worried bringing two more people than he planned, but he couldn't really say no to Ron and Hermione, when he knew both Ernie and Sue were good friends with them. Harry had talked to them a few times and knew they were good people and he felt it was a good thing for more of his friends to get to know the real Rubeus Hagrid.

When they were inside, Hagrid poured them all a cup of tea and offered them some cake and even though they just had breakfast, it looked good so they dug in. Hagrid formally introduced himself as Professor of Care of Magical Creatures to the three who were meeting him for the first time.

Hermione seemed eager to ask something as introductions were being made and when Hagrid finished she instantly started questioning the professor, "Was that an Aethonan? It's much too small to be Abraxan, I supposed it could be a..." she trailed off when she realised everyone was staring at her.

Hagrid let out a pleased laugh, "The professors teachin' you are always praisin' you, and I can see why! It's a shame you won't be taking Care of Magical Creatures til the third year Hermione, can't wait til you do, of course!"

"Hermione Granger, the only first year to ever get praised for knowing third year material." Ron said with a grin. It was the kind of comment that would have been said sarcastically at the start of the year, but now it just made Hermione smile with a pleased blush on her face. It quickly turned into a discussion between the two Ravenclaws and Hermione about winged horses, Hagrid just listened with an occasional nod. The other three boys just kept their mouths shut, having absolutely nothing to add about the subject.

"Hagrid, why don't you tell them about your dragon?" Harry said quickly, when there seemed to be a small break in the conversation.

"You have a dragon? Here?" Anthony asked incredulously.

"Not anymore," Hagrid said sadly, "He... erm... got a bit to big to handle. Had to send ol' Herbie off to Romania."

Hagrid then launched into the story, most of which Harry had already heard, of Herbert (Herbie to his friends) the Hebridean Black. When he got to the part about the scar, which Anthony, Sue and Ernie had been wondering about, they all gave a little gasp, Sue in shock and the boys in awe.

"That's really cool..." Ernie blushed when he realised he said it out loud.

"Scars and burns aren't really rare when working with magical creatures, especially dragons, but it does mean you've likely made a mistake." Hagrid chided, but he seemed to look very pleased.

"I still can't believe you were allowed to keep a dragon in the school." Anthony said.

"It's good to be close friends with the Headmaster, I suppose." Hagrid said cheerfully. "Gave me permission for my birthday, he did. Besides, it was barely in the school grounds, had to take a Portkey there and back every time. He also did some very advanced wandwork to prevent Herbie wandering off too far, he was a little thing so it wasn't so hard to keep him there at that time."

There was a brief pause in the conversation where everyone explained to Harry what a Portkey was.

"You've known Professor Riddle for a long time then?" asked Sue.

"Yep, went to school with him. He was a couple of years older than me, but he really helped me out then. I really owe him more than I can every repay." Hagrid said proudly.

"What did he do?" Hermione asked curiously.

Hagrid looked around him, all six of the first years were listening to him so intently, especially Harry. He cleared his throat and started.

"What do you know about the Chamber of Secrets?" Hagrid asked mysteriously.

"It's a legend isn't it? Salazar Slytherin made a secret chamber somewhere in Hogwarts... and hid something there?" Hermione tried to remember what she had read in _Hogwarts: A History_.

"There was supposed to be a monster in there and only the heir of Slytherin was supposed to be able to open it." Sue offered. She explained Salazar's pure blood prejudices and what the monster was supposed to do. Hermione, who was a Muggle-born, went pale as she listened.

"But..but that's a load of nonsense, isn't it? That pure bloods are better?" she asked shakily. They all agreed quickly, Hagrid the loudest.

"Of course it is Hermione! Look at you, one of the smartest witches in your year! You were right by the way, the winged horse, it's an Aethonan breed." Hagrid nodded approvingly. "There may be people preaching this pure blood nonsense, but not one of them's worth listening to."

Hermione cheered up, "So why did you ask us about the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Well you see, it's not just a legend, it actually exists!" Hagrid's said excitedly, his beard twitching into a grin. "The monster, the one you mentioned Sue, was a Basilisk."

"Wait a moment, are you saying there's a Basilisk at the school?" Anthony almost shouted. "A dragon, I can just about believe, but a Basilisk? There hasn't been one seen in centuries!"

"What's a Basilisk?" Harry asked.

"A Basilisk is a huge snake and it can... Well, why don't I start at the beginning Harry." Hagrid looked like he was enjoying this very much. "So, it started when.. hrm.."

Hagrid faltered and looked around at them hesitantly.

"Maybe, you lot are a bit young to hear this one." Hagrid said quietly. They all stood up at once protesting, saying they were old enough to hear whatever it was and how he couldn't stop after telling them this much.

"Please, Hagrid?" Harry begged.

"Oh all right, don't go spreadin' this story aroun' though. I mean it, might get me in trouble." Hagrid relented. "Well, there were attacks on the students, they were being petrified. You see, if you look directly into a Basilisk's eyes, you'll drop dead just like that. But see it in a reflection, or through some thick, cloudy glass, it'll just petrify you."

"Keeping something like that in a school, Slytherin's definitely a nutter." Ron said.

Hagrid chuckled, then grew sombre. "Well anyway, they were all petrified until... until one student was killed."

"How awful!" Hermione and Sue gasped.

"It was, it was terrible. There were even talks of closing down the school." Hagrid agreed. "And the thing is... I got blamed for it."

"You opened the Chamber of Secrets?" Ernie asked, wide eyed.

"Course I didn't!" Hagrid said indignantly and Ernie blushed. "The fact was, I was well known for my interest in magical creatures, and someone reported seeing me with..with something and thought it was the thing that killed the girl."

"What did they do?" Hermione whispered.

"Well they expelled me on the spot, snapped my wand as well." Harry instinctively reached for the pocket with his wand. He saw the others do the same. Hagrid gave a small chuckle. "Thought I was done for, but that's when Tom came to my aid. He was a Slytherin prefect at that time, and was already famous around the school as one of it's best students.

Hagrid paused a moment to take a gulp of tea and offered some more around. They all refused, wanting the hear the rest of the story.

"He didn't think I was guilty, you see. He'd seen me with my... well... a creature I kept and knew that it wasn't something that could ki- well, it wasn't something that could petrify anyone." Hagrid continued. "He spent days combing through books in the library, and wandering around the school trying to find the Chamber, even though most of the professors had already decided it was my fault. He also got students from the other houses to help as well, it was unheard of at the time, a Slytherin prefect toiling away trying to help a Gryffindor third year."

"Did he manage to find the Chamber?" Anthony asked.

"Yes he did, and was he shocked when he opened it, coming across a Basilisk like that." Hagrid smiled. "He called Professor Dippet, the Headmaster at that time, and proved right there, that I couldn't have been the one setting the thing on the students."

"So what happened to the Basilisk?" Harry asked.

"They had to get rid of it obviously, too dangerous to keep around and Tom wasn't too keen on having it either." Hagrid said, looking sad that the extremely dangerous monster had to be killed. "I managed to get a look, and by Merlin, was it absolutely beautiful..."

"What do you mean the Professor didn't want it?" Harry was confused. "Why would he ever want to keep something so dangerous around?"

"He could have kept it of course, since he's a Parselmouth. The whole Chamber was set up so you'd have to speak Parseltongue to open it. He could have controlled it and made sure it didn't hurt anyone." Hagrid explained.

Everyone else nodded, but Harry asked carefully. "What's a... Parselmouth?"

"Sorry Harry, I keep forgetting you're new to all this." Hagrid scratched his head. Harry gave Hermione a quick glance, she obviously knew what that word meant, despite being 'new' as well. "Well a Parselmouth is someone who can speak Parseltongue, someone who can speak to snakes."

"Oh. Oh!" Harry exclaimed. He thought about the snake he'd seen in the Headmaster's office and it seemed to make sense, she appeared to be much more tame than your average snake. Also, if Harry could speak to snakes there was no reason someone else couldn't do it as well. "So that's what I am. I didn't realise there was a special name for it though."

"You what Harry?" Ron asked slowly. Harry realised that everyone was staring at him.

"Speak to snakes. Have I never told you? I accidentally released a snake from the zoo, he told me he was going to go to Brazil." Harry told the room. Everyone was still staring at him silently. "What's wrong?"

"Being able to speak Parseltongue is a... very rare skill," Hermione said slowly. "...and it's usually associated with dark wizards."

"But I thought the Headmaster could..." Harry went very pale.

"He's considered more of an exception to the rule." Anthony avoided looking Harry in the eye. "But there are still people who go around saying that he must be a dark wizard because of that ability."

"Well obviously Harry isn't a dark wizard." Hagrid chuckled, but seemed a bit uneasy. "The same people who call Tom evil are the same ones who'd call Hermione inferior for being a Muggle-born. A whole lot of nonsense, see what Tom did with the school, he's accepting of anyone who's willing to learn. And all the trouble he went through to help me, not an drop of evil blood in him."

Harry sighed in relief as the others slowly nodded their agreement. But Hagrid added, "Although I wouldn't really go spreading it around, alright you lot?"

"Of course we wont." Ron said firmly, giving Harry a reassuring nod.

"Good, good. Anyway, when they realised it wasn't me they apologised and agreed to pay for my new wand." he picked up his cricket bat shaped wand and showed them. "Got it custom made, Mr. Ollivander used Basilisk horn from the beast in the Chamber as the wand core. He normally only works with unicorn hair, dragon heartstring or phoenix feather, but Basilisks are rare enough so he was pleased to get a chance to use it."

Harry eyes were wide with wonder, a secret chamber in the school sounded exciting, even though it used to house a killer snake. Anthony and Hermione, however, were frowning, the Ravenclaw and the unofficial Ravenclaw, opened their mouths at the same time.

"Who opened the Chamber the first time?" Hermione asked.

"Why wasn't this ever reported in the Daily Prophet?" Anthony demanded.

"Sorry?" Hagrid asked. Hermione and Anthony looked at each other and gave a small smile, then they repeated the questions one at a time. "Ahh, you see, Tom, I mean Professor Riddle, was the only one at that school who was known to be able to speak Parseltongue, so at first they suspected him even though he was the one that told them about the Chamber. Duffers the whole lot of them. They eventually worked out that during the first few attacks he'd been away from the school, his mother unfortunately passed away and he'd left Hogwarts to go home for the funeral."

"So they never found out, even after all this time?" Harry asked.

Hagrid shook his head. "No, and that also answers your question Anthony. They accused two students who turned out to be innocent and never found the real culprit behind the attacks. They obviously didn't want to admit to that, the Ministry would be a laughing stock. They told the students and parents that the girl died in an accident and covered up the whole business with the Basilisk. Everyone who knew the truth were told to keep quiet, me, Tom and all the teachers.."

Hermione looked worried. "Are you sure you should've told this story to us? It sounds like you could get into trouble for it."

"Well I did warn you, don't go spreading it around or anything." Harry and the others stared at one another with worried expressions. "But don't worry too much, Tom's Headmaster now and he never thought we should have kept it a secret in the first place, and the people in the Ministry that covered it up are mostly retired by now. As long as you don't go to the Daily Prophet or something, it shouldn't really matter.

Before they left, Hagrid led them into the enclosure and allowed them to carefully approach the injured horse that he was caring for. He gave each of them a small ball of peanut butter, with chunks of vegetables mixed in to give to the animal and pet it when it eagerly munched on the treat. Hermione and Sue seemed especially pleased by this and they asked Hagrid what kind of animals they would be learning about in their third year.

On the way back they wanted to know more about Harry's incident with the snake at the zoo, so Harry told them. They all laughed about it as Harry tried to make it sound as funny as possible, even though Hermione told him off about it. Thinking back about it now, Harry felt satisfied with this little piece of revenge knowing that Dudley had done more than enough to deserve it, but he didn't tell that to his friends. Ron and Hermione both knew Harry had little love for his relatives, but they didn't know how badly he was treated while he lived there. They didn't know about the cupboard bedroom, or the constant chores, or the hand me downs, or the meals of meagre leftovers. To his friends the Dursleys were just Muggle relatives who had no understanding of magic and hated it, and he was happy to leave it at that.

* * *

As time was closing in on Harry's first ever Quidditch match, Malfoy started acting up again, determined to get Harry in trouble and prevent him from playing. During classes, Malfoy would sit close to him and hiss insults under his breath, daring him to do something in front of the professors. Harry tried not to react to the harassment, but now he usually walked around with a bloody lip from biting on it all the time.

In the corridors, Harry saw more of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle than ever before, waiting for their chance to try something. This eventually reached the ears of Oliver Wood who redoubled his efforts to 'protect' Harry. He started following Harry around all the time, until he was threatened with a detention on match day by Professor McGonagall, when he was late for his classes three times that week. Ron and Hermione also followed him around as much as they could, but Ron was sometimes more of a hindrance, as he was more likely than Harry to lash out at Malfoy.

After lessons ended it seemed like a better idea to avoid these chance encounters all together, so Harry decided to spend all his free time in the common room which actually pleased Hermione, because it gave her a chance to start revising for the exams, which would begin next month. This was how he spent the afternoon before the match, sitting in the common room reading through Hermione's History of Magic notes. He couldn't concentrate though, and ended up staring at the same page for over half an hour, while he kept checking the time wondering if it was too soon to go for dinner. Hermione saw his mind wandering, as well as Ron, who wasn't even reading the notes, but had the end of his quill in his mouth staring off into mid air, so Hermione suggested a break.

"Let's get down to the Hall, dinner should be soon." Harry said, Ron nodded vigorously.

Hermione glanced at the large clock on the wall of the common room, "It's still early, food wont be ready for another twenty minutes."

"I need to stretch my legs, Hermione, we've been working for too long." Harry groaned, standing up.

"What about Malfoy? I bet he's planning on trying something tonight to get you into trouble again." Hermione warned.

"I hope he tries something, I'll have an excuse when I jinx him." Ron glared at a spider that had climbed up to the table causing him to involuntarily wince. He pointed his wand at it, " _Flipendo_!"

There was a loud bang as the spell shot towards the unsuspecting arachnid, which flew off the table and into the air.

"Ron! You shouldn't do that-" Hermione said in disapproval. Harry was laughing when he suddenly heard a scream behind him. Everyone jumped up and turned towards the sound.

"GETITOFFME! GETITOFFME!" squealed Lavender Brown. Parvati was trying to push something off Lavender's hair with her wand.

Ron took a moment before he realised what he had just done. He quickly got up, "Erm, we'll go straight down to the Great Hall. Malfoy won't do anything there in front of witnesses. I'll just be outside." he pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and left Gryffindor Tower.

Lavender seemed to have calmed down and was looking around and at the ceiling, wondering where the spider had come from. Harry quickly turned back to Hermione to avoid eye contact, he didn't want Lavender asking him if he had seen what had happened. "Come on, let's go."

Hermione gave an exasperated sigh and started gathering her notes and pushing them into a bag. She told him to wait and quickly ran up to her room and came back empty handed. They found Ron standing next to the portrait outside the common room, looking slightly nervous.

When he saw Harry and Hermione, he scowled. "What took you so long?"

"Hmph. I had to put away my notes. The ones you were looking at, Ron." Hermione glared at him.

"Oh... alright then." Ron mumbled feebly. "Did she say anything?"

Harry knew he was asking about Lavender. "I don't think she knows what happened."

Ron brightened. "It was an accident, you know? I wouldn't have done it if I knew it would fly towards her."

"I'm sure plenty of people saw what happened, your spell was quite loud, Ron." Hermione sniffed.

They walked in silence, Ron was trying to work out what to say to Lavender if she confronted him and Hermione was still revising, silently mouthing the Transfiguration notes she memorised. So it was up to Harry to keep a look out, in case Malfoy tried to ambush them. He peered around corners and skipped a corridor altogether, when he thought it seemed a likely place for Malfoy to be hiding. His two friends didn't even notice the detour, but they managed to reach the Great Hall without incident and they sat down in the almost empty room.

There were no staff members yet, and only a handful of students on each house table. On the Gryffindor side there were only three sixth year girls quietly whispering to each other, occasionally bursting into a fit of giggles. Harry glanced at the Slytherin table and noticed it was equally as empty, no sign of Malfoy or his two friends anywhere.

The tables slowly started filling and by the time Harry finished his steak pie with a side of peas and was tucking into some ice cream for dessert, the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team was there and surrounding Harry.

"Any trouble from those Slytherin first years?" Oliver Wood asked warily, his eyes darting around the Hall as if he was expecting an attack at any moment.

"No, I think I'll finally get to play this time." Harry grinned.

"Maybe we should hex them just in case." Fred Weasley joked.

Oliver turned on him so fast, he spilled water from the cup he was holding. "Don't you dare, Fre- Geor- Fred! Finish your food and go straight back to the common room, and stay out of trouble!"

Even at his serious tone, the rest of the Gryffindor team just laughed, Harry with them. They would finally have a chance to play Quidditch at their best, and it seemed very unlikely that something could happen in the few hours leading to the game.

Harry and Hermione waited for Ron to finish his second dessert and stood up together to leave. Oliver choked on his food and gestured at them with his hands. "Leaving already? We'll walk with you."

"We'll be fine, like you said, we'll go straight back to the common room. I promise I won't hex anyone." Harry cheekily added as a joke.

Oliver frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, McGonagall's been keeping a close eye on them as well." Harry gestured towards the staff table with his head. "If something happens to me on the way back, everyone will know it was Malfoy, and unfortunately Malfoy isn't stupid enough to try something."

Harry said goodbye to the rest of his team and walked to the door, slowing down slightly as they neared the Slytherin table. He looked around but he didn't seem to be able to find Malfoy or Crabbe or Goyle. He would make sure to go back carefully, like he did on his way here. If the Slytherins were planning anything, he wouldn't be caught unaware.

They left the Hall and were almost at the corridor with the entrance to the Tower, when they were stopped by a voice. "Harry! Harry Potter!"

Hermione had her wand out in an instant, and both Ron and Harry raised their fists and looked around wildly for any attackers. They found Nearly Headless Nick, floating towards them trying to catch their attention.

"Nick? What's wrong?" Harry asked, fists lowered.

"Glad I bumped into you." Nick said. "There are three Slytherin boys just ahead waiting to ambush you. They caught a bird outside and painted it black, planning to launch it at you when you turn the corner."

"Malfoy." Harry and his friends frowned. "Thanks for warning us, Nick."

"My pleasure, dear boy. I am looking forward to finally hearing about your exploits on the Quidditch field, very disappointing you couldn't make the last game." Nick lifted his hat and bowed at them, his head almost falling off his neck. He bid them farewell and vanished through the walls.

"Should we try and get him? He'll never see us coming." Ron suggested with a glint in his eyes.

"No, Ron! Harry might get into trouble again. We should go around another way..." Hermione said.

Harry though for a moment. It would have been satisfying to get one over on Malfoy after all he did this week. He sighed. "Hermione's right. I really don't want to risk anything. Even if he doesn't see us, he might go to Snape and he'll definitely blame us."

They walked back the way them came and climbed a set of stairs while Ron grumbled about Malfoy. They all laughed while they made plans to get back at the blond haired Slytherin, plans that weren't likely to work, but it was still fun to think about.

"We should try and find a-" Harry suddenly stopped talking and froze stiff.

There was a scream, a loud, blood-curdling shriek of pain coming from somewhere. Harry though it was the sound of someone dying. "That scream..."

"What, you mean Lavender?" Ron frowned, he had forgotten about the incident in the common room until now. "Why are-"

"No, no! That scream just now!" Harry said urgently. "Didn't you hear it?"

Hermione and Ron looked at him worriedly. Hermione said carefully, "Harry... we.. we didn't hear anything."

Harry flinched as he heard the scream again and started running down the corridor. He heard the footsteps of his friends following him. "She's dying! Someone's trying to kill her!"

"Harry! HARRY! Slow down!" Ron shouted at him. Harry stopped, but not because of Ron. The screaming had stopped again and he wasn't sure where it had come from.

"H.. Ha.. Harry." Hermione was out of breath. "The.. there's no.. sc.. screaming..."

Harry looked around frantically for the source of the sound, pushing open doors to empty classrooms at random, but couldn't find anything.

"Harry, maybe.. maybe you should go to the hospital wing?" Ron was looking at Harry in a way that suggested he was wondering if his friend had suddenly gone mad.

"Yes we should go see Madam Pomfrey! Hearing voices isn't a good thing Harry. I've been worried ever since Halloween when... you..." Hermione's worried look was slowly being replaced by a thoughtful one.

Harry looked around, they were near the bathroom, and he thought it was possible the screams were coming from that direction. Without a second thought, Harry started to sprint towards the creepy bathroom, behind him Ron gave an exasperated shout of "Harry!" but followed him all the same.

They reached the door in record time and Harry waited for a moment to listen before pushing it open, his wand raised. He could still hear the noises, but there was an urgent quality to the whisperings now, as if they knew something bad was happening. Harry stepped inside, expecting something terrible but was disappointed and relieved at the same time when he looked around the room and found it exactly the same as the last time he was in here.

Ron was looking around warily, but Hermione was biting her lips looking at Harry with a worried expression. "Harry, I think I might know what's going on..."

"What do you mean?" Harry turned to her and Hermione was about to answer him when he heard the scream again, it was much louder, and he tried to block the noise with his hands. Ron and Hermione were on him in an instant, mouthing his name, but he couldn't hear them.

He lowered his shaking hands as the noise stopped again and he looked up at his two friends who had become really pale. "Hermione, you know what this is?"

"I.. I.. I think this might be the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets... The one Hagrid told us about." Hermione whispered. "I think you might be hearing snakes..."

"Snakes? I'm hearing a snake screaming?" Harry looked at her in disbelief. "No, it's not.. I'm sure it's not..."

"To you it will sound just like a person, I'm sure. Professor Riddle can open the Chamber, he might be keeping something in there." Hermione suggested.

"A Basilisk?" Ron gasped. "You think he..."

"I don't know, I don't think so. I'm sure he wouldn't keep something that dangerous around. But since he's the only one who can open it, if he wants to keep something valuable safe, it's going to be the best place to hide it." Hermione said.

"So he left some kind of snake to guard it?" Harry asked. He tried to think back to the day he talked to the snake at the zoo, trying to remember what it sounded like.

Ron snapped his fingers. "The goblins! And the Aurors! They came here to Hogwarts after that break-in at Gringotts! They must have come here to ask the Headmaster to hide something in the Chamber!"

Hermione's eyes widened and she nodded. "That makes sense!"

"That's all good, but how are we supposed to open it? I should be able to as well, right? If I'm a Parselmouth and all." Harry said in frustration.

"Open it?" Ron looked extremely uneasy at the prospect.

"Yes! Whoever, or whatever is in there is dying! Right now!" Harry snapped. He looked around looking for any clues, but there seemed to be nothing. It was just an ordinary bathroom.

"Hmmm... Boys shouldn't be in here." a voice said. The three all turned around, wands raised towards the sound, and saw a ghost of a female Hogwarts student giving them a glum look.

"Myrtle!" Hermione said, trying to sound cheerful for some reason. "Um... This is Harry and Ron... we were um.. just..."

She looked at them with a frown. "I don't suppose you're going to try and chase me away as well?"

"Chase you away?" Harry asked.

"Yes. The caretaker came in here, saying he needed to clean the bathroom. Chased me away with his wand before I could say two words." she said sullenly. "Don't know why he was in such a hurry.."

"Myrtle, do you know how to get into the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked impatiently.

The ghost's gloomy expression changed to one of surprise, then to a smug look of I-know-but-I'm-not-telling. "Oooh.. Where did you hear about the Chamber? I might know.. but I'm not supposed to tell."

"This is important, please! There's someone down there who's in trouble, we need to open it!" Harry pleaded.

Her smile widened at his desperation, "There's no point telling you where the entrance is, because youwon't be able to open it." she flew down to the sink and floated next to a tap and pointed at it. Harry looked at it closely and saw something resembling a snake scratched onto the metal. "Only the Headmaster knows how to open it, and Hagrid too I guess."

She floated back up looking awfully pleased with herself. Harry ignored her and walked over to the copper taps. He leaned over until the tip of his nose was almost touching the scratched snake and he said, " _Open_ ". Ron and Hermione's gasps were lost in the sounds of groaning metal as the taps spun and the whole sink split apart and disappeared into the ground, leaving behind a dark staircase leading down wide enough for even someone like Hagrid to walk through. Through the exposed tunnel Harry could hear the voices vibrating across the walls, it was much louder and he could even distinguish a few words now, 'intruder' being repeated the most incessantly.

Myrtle's ghost was panicking now, she obviously hadn't expected three first year students to be able to open the secret entrance. "Wait! Wait! You can't go in there! I'll get in trouble!"

"She's right Harry, we should go get a professor, we should go to Professor McGonagall." Hermione said quietly. The three stood there, staring into the gaping dark hole and none of them could suppress an involuntary shiver. Just then another scream sounded, causing Harry's knees to buckle and almost fall down, Ron's hands shot out and managed to grab his arm just in time.

Harry took a deep breath and tried to ignore the howls of pain, "Y..you two go and get Professor McGonagall. I need to go see.. see if I can help.."

He carefully stepped out onto the stone staircase and waited for something to happen. But nothing did, so he took another step and then another and was quickly making his way down. Ron and Hermione stood there watching Harry go down, then they looked at each other. They both took a deep breath and followed their best friend towards the Chamber of Secrets.


	8. Year 1 - Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Encounter with The Enemy**

" _Lumos_." Harry, Ron and Hermione said quietly.

They descended the tunnel, the sounds of their feet against the stone echoing eerily around them. Their breathing quickened and misted around them as they went deeper, the warmth of spring did not reach these depths. Unlike the other two, Harry was also grimacing in pain as the voices became clearer and louder, vibrating around the walls and into his head.

" _..not-Riddle.._ "

". _.intruder.._ "

". _.danger.._ "

" _..not-Hagrid.._ "

The words were a constant buzz and Harry was barely able to make out the words.

"Do you hear hissing?" Ron asked, looking down around his feet warily.

"Yes. No. I mean, I can hear what they're saying." Harry told them what the snakes were hissing.

Hermione peered around anxiously. "Harry, I really think we should- oh!"

"WHOA!" Harry cried out as his foot suddenly stepped onto empty air. He flailed his arms around trying to grab the edge of the steps he had just been walking on, but he was falling forwards and couldn't twist his body around. Ron's arm shot out, just managing to grab his hand, but Harry had already fallen two or three feet, so Ron had to bend forwards dangerously over the edge, barely managing to hold onto Harry, never mind pulling him up. Hermione shrieked and quickly wrapped her arms around Ron's waist, trying to pull him back, but that tiny momentum, caused by Hermione brushing up against Ron, caused him to slip forwards and fall over the side, pulling Hermione in with them.

The drop was surprisingly short and lucky for them, not at all painful. They had expected a hard stone surface, but found something that was cold but slightly... squishy? Harry opened his eyes but found only darkness, during the fall the lights from their wands had flickered and faded, he had barely managed to keep a hold of it.

"Ron? Hermione? Are you alright?" Harry said, but then suddenly froze as his voice echoed around the room. There was no other noise. Nothing at all, the voices that had plagued him from the moment he entered the bathroom were completely silent.

"I'm... fine... what did we land on?" Ron asked somewhere to his left.

"Hermione?" Harry listened carefully, he thought he could here her whimpering somewhere behind him. "Are you hurt?"

"Is that you, Hermione?" Harry heard the shuffling of Ron's robes as he moved about. "Say something if- OW! Something bit me!"

Hermione let out a little moan of fear and Harry's heart started to pound faster as he felt the ground moving underneath him. He lifted the wand he was clutching and whispered, " _Lumos_ ".

He shut his eyes reflexively as the light flared up from his wand, he squinted and saw Ron clutching and rubbing a spot on the back of his arm and Hermione with her eyes firmly shut, hands covering her ears and her mouth open in a silent scream. He took a shuddering breath and lowered his wand, wishing desperately that what was moving around him wasn't what he had just imagined.

It was a writhing mass, one serpent barely distinguishable from another, a multitude of reds and blacks and yellows and greens and every other colour Harry Potter couldn't care less about right now. Hundreds, if not thousands, of snakes in a huge pile all around them, the ones near the top seem to be frozen still, their eyes trained on the two boys and the girl that had just fallen onto them.

"Ron..." Harry said in a desperate whisper, "Don't... move..."

This was the wrong thing to say. Ron had still been examining the two puncture wounds on his arm, until Harry had spoken. He looked up to Harry then he looked down. "Bloody-!"

He jumped up and took a step back, but as soon as he started to move, the snakes that had been staring silently a moment ago, lashed out at him, fangs bared and hissing and the voices started again, louder than ever.

" _..intruder.._ "

" _..not-Riddle.._ "

" _..stop.._ "

" _..bite.._ "

" _STOP_!" Harry bellowed in a hiss. Silence. Stillness. All the snakes froze and turned their heads to face Harry, tilting their heads in curiosity. Ron had fallen back down and was holding his arms up, trying to protect his face.

Hermione peaked open one eye and let out a muffled groan, as if she was struggling to keep silent and failing, through her chattering teeth she stuttered, "H..H..Harry.. te.. tell.. them to.. to.. let.. us.. go.."

Harry gulped and hissed. " _Let us go, we mean no harm_."

" _Serpent-tongue, you speak?_ " Harry heard something say from the wriggling mass.

" _Yes. I hear_ _d_ _someone in pain_ _,_ _I_ _c_ _a_ _me to help_." Harry replied slowly.

" _Where is Riddle? Where is Hagrid? Intruder has entered the Chamber,_ _the Guardian is in danger_ _!_ " another voice said urgently.

Harry heard Ron mutter something. "Ron, what's wrong?"

"Don.. Don't feel.. too good.." he slurred. Hermione stood up shakily and made her way slowly over to Ron.

Panic swept through Harry, he turned to the snakes. " _Are you poisonous? Is my friend in danger?_ "

The snake closest to Harry shook it's head, " _No, Riddle dislikes death. Our poison_ _is_ _of sleep, he will wake unharmed._ "

"They said their poison is just meant to put you to sleep." Harry sighed in relief and relayed the information to Hermione, who was kneeling over Ron. Ron was quickly losing consciousness and although Harry didn't think the snakes were lying, he thought it might be a good idea to get him some help. He looked around the room and up to try and see where they had fallen from. " _How do we get back up?_ "

" _We will raise you up, if you wish to go back. You must_ _find_ _Riddle!_ " the ground beneath Harry started writhing about more vigorously, and Hermione gave a little squeal.

"Hermione, can you carry Ron back up? I don't think we should leave him here." Harry said.

"How are we meant to go back up there? And What about you...?" she felt she knew what Harry was going to say, but asked him anyway.

"The snakes will carry you up and.. and I need to go on ahead. The snakes are saying something is wrong." Harry said. "You should go back and try and find someone, they're asking for Professor Riddle or Hagrid."

Hermione nodded and took a few careful steps towards Harry and flung her arms around him. "Be careful Harry. I'll try and be back as soon as I can."

"O..Okay." Harry blushed. "Erm.. um.. _can you carry my friends? They will try and find Hagrid._ "

" _You?_ " asked a curious voice.

" _I will go into the Chamber."_ Harry replied, sounding more confident than he felt.

A green snake, with black bands separated itself from the mass and slithered up to Harry. " _I will come, carry me Serpent-tongue._ "

Harry hesitated for a moment before leaning down and picking up the snake, it slithered across his hands and wound itself around his left arm. The snake's head seemed to lean forward away from Ron and Hermione and Harry knew that it was showing him the way. He walked down, until he was free of the mound of snakes. He heard Hermione yelp and turned around to watch, as the snakes moved as one, until it shaped into a steep ramp, ascending into the darkness above. He felt the snake tug around his arm, as if it was insisting on moving forward.

Harry walked in silence for a moment before his raised his arm, " _Do you have a name?_ "

" _We are many, we are one, we are Legion._ " the snake hissed.

Harry frowned at the creature, " _Is.. is that your name? Legion?_ "

" _We are many, we are one, we are Legion._ " it just repeated. Harry gave a sigh of frustration and lowered his arm again, hurrying forward.

Harry stopped as his foot stepped on something soft. He lowered his wand to the floor and paled at the sign of the body of Argus Filch. There were several tiny puncture wounds, all over the exposed parts of his flesh, a fate Harry and the others would have shared if not for his Parselmouth abilities. Legion (Harry had decided to call it that) unwound himself from Harry and dropped to the floor. It slithered towards the man's face and flicked it's tongue in and out.

" _The human is still breathing, our poison does not kill._ " he hissed at Harry while looking past the unconscious Filch. " _There is something up ahead, Hagrid's thing. Be careful._ "

Harry picked up the snake then walked around the caretaker and slowly made his way forward, trying not to make a noise on the stone floor. Something that belonged to Hagrid, someone who once kept a dragon, and whatever it was he wasn't looking forward to facing it.

He suppressed a gasp as the light of his wand shined on a head of a giant dog lying close to the floor, teeth bared in an angry snarl and it's eyes open wide and staring. He took a careful step back raising his wand slightly, as if the light would ward off the monstrous creature, and the light shined on two more heads, attached to the same body.. but.. the heads were positioned strangely. One was completely twisted around and staring at the dark ceiling and the other seemed to have buried itself into the stone wall by it's side. Harry realised then that the three headed dog had not moved an inch since he first encountered it and looking at it closely he saw that the eyes were glazed and unblinking, and a pool of something black and red had formed under the body. It was dead, the heated rage of battle permanently etched upon it's expression.

The snake around his arms gave a small hiss of relief. " _Hagrid's beast is dead, we must hurry forwards._ "

Harry stood there rooted on the spot. Something had come in here and killed this.. this.. thing. What could Harry ever hope to achieve against magic as powerful as that? No, no one would think less of him if he turned back now, Hermione would have been able to find a professor by now, there would be someone coming down soon. He took a step back, but then it was there again, the harsh dying cries coming from nearby, it was closer than ever. He gritted his teeth and walked forwards.

He continued until he reached a dead end, just as the screaming stopped again. He walked up to the wall, which showed carvings or two entwined snakes, with glistening emerald green eyes. Harry took a deep breath, and once again hissed " _Open_ ".

The walls parted open revealing a large chamber, dimly lit with a greenish glow. His eyes quickly glanced around the room taking in towering stone pillars and a giant statue, before they were drawn to the floor, where a figure was standing, facing away from Harry, a reddish glow surrounding the raised wand. In front of this person, he thought he could see something shimmering, glass or perhaps some kind of crystal.

Harry quietly whispered the words to extinguish the light from his wand and took a careful step forwards, putting his foot down lightly as not to alert this person of his presence. He managed six steps before the cloaked figure whipped around, wand raised directly at him.

" _H_ **ar** _ry_ **P** _ott_ **er**."

The words were like two knives through his heart, chilling him to the bone. Harry's whole body started to shake as he fell to his knees. Twin voices, utterly different but completely synchronised, the sound of his name echoed in his mind and his vision went dark.

"..Cloak..Stone.." the sound of a dry hacking cough "..three brothers.."

A voice barely remembered, a voice from nightmares he would always wake from sweating and breathless, a voice that ended always with a flash of evil green light.

"..expected..child is protected.." more coughing, the sound of someone close to death. "The killing curse."

The green light of the curse that killed his father and killed his mother, but failed to kill him. The curse that, he had later found out, was from Gellert Grindelwald, the King of Crows.

Harry flinched and his vision cleared, he felt something cold and hard wind itself around his body. He was still kneeling and when he looked down he saw grey metal chains magically binding his arms around his body, Legion hissed a curse and dropped down before being crushed, and slithered away. He felt his arms go numb and he desperately tried to keep hold of his wand, even though he had no idea how to could get himself out of this situation.

The figure cloaked in shadows flicked his wand and Harry flew forwards and stopped three feet in front of him. Harry tried to look at the face beneath the hood, but it was completely masked by shadows, shadows that didn't seem to be cast from anything, but created by magical means.

"Grindelwald..." Harry said weakly, slumped against the chains keeping him upright.

The wizard was silent, only moving his head a fraction of an inch to the side, as if he was tilting his head in curiosity. Harry gazed back with fear in his eyes, regretting ever setting foot in this place. Suddenly a hand shot out towards Harry's face and he suddenly felt pain, more pain than he had ever felt before. Harry could barely feel the fingers caressing his forehead over the blazing hot, excruciating sensation in his scar. He screamed and cried and wanted to vomit, but then just as quickly the pain was gone. The Grindelwald thing held his hand in front of his hood, examining it intently.

" **P** _ai_ **nf** _u_ **l**." he simply said.

'Yes.. yes it was.' Harry thought desperately shuddering again at the voice, 'Please don't do that again.. please..'

" _T_ _h_ **e p** _o_ **ssi** _bil_ **ity** **wa** _s_ **con** _s_ **i** _der_ **ed** , **b** _ut_ **it** **s** _ee_ **med** _so_ _un_ **li** _ke_ **ly**." it was almost as if he was talking to himself, completely ignoring Harry.

Harry tried to move his arms, trying to loosen the chains, but by now he could barely feel his them, there was only a tingling sensation from the lack of blood-flow. He closed his eyes and he ran through all the spells he had learnt this year, thinking of any that he could use now. The dark wizard slowly flexed his fingers then put his hand back down and turned once again to Harry, falling silent once more.

" **N** _o_ , **i** _t is_ **to** _o s_ **o** _o_ **n**. _W_ **e st** _ick_ **t** _o o_ **u** _r_ **pl** _an_." he turned away from Harry and towards the shimmering object Harry had noticed from the entrance of the Chamber. " _Pe_ _ **rha**_ _ps_.. **h** _e c_ **a** _n h_ **elp**."

Even in this terrible situation Harry couldn't help but stare at wonder at the sight before him. It looked like a snake that had coiled itself up into a small pyramid, and even then it was the size of a horse, like the one he had seen with Hagrid. However, it wasn't the size that filled Harry with awe, but the skin, it was crystal or glass and was completely transparent making it possible to see right through it. Harry at first thought it was a statue or large figurine, but he noticed the small movements it made, of breathing or blinking that looked so realistic.

" **A** **di** _a_ **m** _ond_ **sk** _i_ **n** _ne_ **d** **w** _e_ **a** _rd_ _w_ **yr** _m_." the wizard explained to Harry. " _th_ **e ul** _tim_ **a** _t_ **e** **sa** _f_ **e** _fo_ **r Par** _s_ **elm** _o_ **u** _th_ **s**."

He moved around the diamond snake waving his wand above the creature and muttering under his breath. " **Muc** _h re_ **s** _pe_ **ct** _t_ **o R** _id_ **d** _le_ **f** _or_ **a** _ct_ **ually** _ma_ **n** _a_ **gin** _g_ _t_ **o** **c** _re_ **a** _t_ **e** **th** _is_ **,** **ev** _e_ **n th** _ough_ **it** _i_ **s p** _osi_ **ng** _a p_ **r** _oble_ **m** **f** _or_ _u_ **s**. **It** _m_ **us** _t be_ **tw** _ent_ **y, n** _o_ , **t** _hir_ **t** _y y_ **ea** _rs_ **old** , _a_ **n** _d_ **th** _ir_ **ty y** _ea_ **r** _s of con_ **de** _n_ **sed** _ma_ **g** _i_ **c an** _d l_ **oy** _al_ **ty is** _a d_ **iff** _ic_ **u** _lt t_ **h** _i_ **ng t** _o br_ **e** _a_ **k apar** _t. It_ **co** _u_ **l** _d b_ **e d** _es_ **tr** _o_ **ye** _d, of_ **c** _ou_ **rs** _e, b_ **u** _t th_ **e** **S** **to** _n_ **e w** _i_ **l** _l no_ **t be a** _b_ **le** _t_ **o wi** _ths_ **ta** _n_ **d** _i_ **t**."

Harry noticed that there seemed to be small cracks on the skin of the beautiful creature, signs that the evil wizard had indeed tried to rip it apart, to get to whatever the snake was guarding.

He turned again to face Harry. " **S** _p_ **ea** _k t_ **o it**. _Beg_ **for** **i** _t to r_ **e** _le_ **ase** _the_ _S_ **tone**."

"I.. what?" Harry started shaking again as he realised Grindelwald was looking at him.

" _M_ **uc** _h of R_ **idd** _le_ **h** _a_ **s go** _ne_ **int** _o h_ **i** _s pe_ **t, ho** _p_ **eful** _l_ **y hi** _s de_ **sir** _e_ **to** _pr_ **ote** _c_ **t hi** _s s_ **tu** _de_ **nt** _s_ **h** _as go_ **ne** _i_ **n the** _re_ **a** _s w_ **ell**. _Pe_ **rha** _p_ **s i** _t w_ **il** _l gi_ **ve u** _p i_ **t's** _pri_ **ze, i** _n ord_ **er** _t_ **o pr** _o_ **t** _e_ **ct a** _st_ **u** _d_ **ent.. fr** _om_ **t** _he wo_ **r** _st to_ **rtu** _r_ **e ima** _g_ **in** _abl_ **e**." he said evenly and pointed his wand at Harry. " _D_ **o** **i** _t_. **N** _ow_."

Harry was shaking so badly, he tried to take a few deep breaths to stop his teeth from chattering, " _C..C..can.. you.. gi.. give.. him what.. what he.. wants?_ "

The crystalline serpent's eyes widened in surprise but then shook it's head sadly.

" _Th_ **a** _t i_ **s a** _s_ **h** _am_ **e**." Harry flinched at the cold voice, expecting more pain, but the figure had already turned away from him, once again examining the snake.

" _Riddle_ _already_ _know_ _s_ _the Chamber has been breached, he will know the_ _S_ _tone is in danger. Turn back now and you may have a chance to escape._ " the Guardian hissed and tinkled, like the sound of a wind-chime in a storm.

The figure ignored this warning and raised his wand once more, Harry shut his eyes tightly, anticipating the scream that he had heard far above in the school. He squirmed desperately, trying to move his hands and block the imminent noise, but he was too tightly bound. His captor was whispering continuously and he felt something in the air, some kind of magic far too powerful and evil to ever be taught in Hogwarts. Then there was a shout.

It didn't come from the snake, but from behind him, from the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. It was a rough, loud, booming voice that filled Harry's heart with hope, " _ACCIO_ , METAL CHAINS!"

Harry felt something pull him backwards for just a second, before the dark wizard before him turned around and flourished his wand, which made him freeze in place. He cried out in pain as he was pulled in two opposite directions, the metal digging deeper into his arms and body, he vaguely heard the sound of his wand clattering on the stone floor as he felt his bones about to snap under the pressure.

There was an angry hiss coming from his feet, and he felt something brush up against his leg and push off with an unintelligible war cry. Legion launched itself at Grindelwald and dug his fangs into the wizard's wand arm. There was an irritated grunt and the pressure lessened instantly, Harry then found himself flying backwards, as fast as if he'd been on his broomstick chasing a Golden Snitch.

Rubeus Hagrid let out an "Ooomph!" as he caught the speeding boy between his hand and belly, but his eyes and wand remained trained on the intruder in the Chamber.

" _Stupefy!_ " Hagrid launched a jet of red light, but missed it's target.

" _Expelliarmus!_ " a white flash that the intruder repelled with a swipe of his wand.

" _CONFRINGO!_ " Harry squinted his eyes at the brightness of the explosion that enveloped the shadowy figure. Hagrid gave the chains a soft tap and Harry was able to take in a deep breath for the first time in what seemed like hours. Hagrid gave his back a little pat and carefully pulled Harry behind him, warily eyeing the smoky crater in front of them.

The silence was broken by the fluttering of fabric and a figure emerged, black cloak spread like a grotesquely large crow and wand already aglow with magic. He brought is wand down sharply and Hagrid gave a surprised grunt of pain, and it was two more sharp flicks from the enemy before the professor could react.

" _Protego!_ " he waved his huge wand in a semi-circle above his head and Harry could see small flashes of spells being reflected by a barrier in front of them. Each time a spell hit the invisible shield, Hagrid gave a noise of exertion and Harry realised it would not hold for long. Harry heard a clattering noise underneath him.

" _Serpent-tongue! Your wand!_ " Harry crouched down to find Legion, tail broken and covered in burns.

" _Legion! Are you alright?_ " Harry asked, concerned for the creature that had saved his life.

" _Your wand! Assist Hagrid!_ " it insisted, ignoring Harry's question. Harry quickly gripped his wand and turned it over in his hands, it seemed spotless which was surprising considering the state of the snake that had carried it over here.

Harry gripped his wand and peeked around his hulking protector, he held back a moment as another curse flew towards them, but then jumped out and began his own attacks, " _Petrificus Totalus! Loco-_ "

"What the ruddy hell do you think you're-" Hagrid tried to pull Harry back, but there was another spell hurtling towards them and Hagrid gripped his wand with both hands and swung it with a mighty grunt, hitting the spell and launching it back at the black robed man. He waved his wand just like Hagrid did to create a shield, but the curse had gathered speed and when it hit, there was a bright flash and he was pushed back several feet.

" _Locomotor Mortis!_ I can help Hagrid!" Harry insisted.

Hagrid gave a frustrated growl, "Alright then, but stay behind me!"

Harry's added spells, although much weaker than the ones that had been flying through the air, proved to be enough of a distraction that allowed Hagrid to launch a counter-attack. The professor lowered the shield spell and launched his own jinxes and hexes, only raising it again when he recognised a spell that might incapacitate him. However, they were still outmatched and Hagrid took the brunt of the attack with his own body and Harry blanched when the heard the sound of cracking bones and a wet slosh of blood spilling onto the floor.

"Move! Move!" Hagrid said urgently as he pushed Harry to the side, Harry just pausing briefly enough to pick up the injured Legion. Hagrid was slowly backing away from the intruder, back towards the entrance of the Chamber looking for a chance to escape, or at least get Harry to safety.

"Harry, if you see a chance, run and get out of here, I'll try and hold him back." Hagrid said quietly.

"No! I won't leave you behind!" Harry said firmly.

"You'll do as I say, Harry!" Hagrid growled, but even as he said it he realised that it would be impossible to cross the distance without getting hit in the back. "Just stay behind me!"

Legion, who was weakly wrapped around Harry's arm, suddenly fell down and slithered up Hagrid's leg and onto his shoulders. The Orofessor's thick clothes meant that he didn't notice his reptilian passenger until it was next to his head with it's tongue flickering in his ear.

"BLOODY-! What do you think you're doing!" he roared just managing to stop himself from swatting it away. It continued to hiss into his ear, then hissed again facing Harry. "What's it saying, Harry?"

"It says.. use an Engorgement charm? Then.." Harry trailed off, not wanting to finish translating the message.

"Then what?" Hagrid picked up Harry and jumped to the side, moving out of the way of a nasty curse.

"Then.. levitate him onto the intruder and escape while he's distracted." Harry said quietly.

Hagrid gave a second to look at the snake on his shoulders, with an expression of gratitude and sadness. The professor cast another blasting curse and while the bright explosion and smoke covered his actions, he placed the snake on the floor and carefully said, " _Engorgio._ "

The snake that was barely two feet long and skinnier than Harry's own thin wrist, suddenly started to swell, longer and thicker, until it reached a size which could swallow a boy the size of Harry without a problem.

"Harry, Smokescreen spell!" Hagrid ordered.

Harry cast the spell without question, and thick grey smoke issued from the tip of his wand quickly blocking them from view. Hagrid quickly launched a few spells in the general direction of the intruder, then pointed his wand at the enlarged green snake.

" _Wingrdium Levi_ _o_ _sa!_ I mean.. _Wingardium Leviosa!_ " Legion started floating slowly into the air, then gathered speed and flew into the smoke. Hagrid kept his wand pointed in the direction, with a look of great concentration, before he flicked it away and Harry heard the sound of something heavy dropping onto the stone floor.

Harry and Hagrid both shot out spells while retreating towards the exit, slightly higher than before in case they accidentally hit Legion. When they reached the halfway point, Hagrid picked up Harry and broke into a run. There was an angry roar behind them and suddenly there was a wall of icy howling winds before them, so cold that as they neared it Harry started shivering uncontrollably. Hagrid pushed his hand forward through the miniature storm, but pulled it back with a cry of pain and Harry could see his skin had turned to a deathly shade of blue. As they turned around, they saw something roll towards them and Harry moaned in horror as he realised it was Legion, cut in half and dripping blood and gore.

The smoke had dissipated and the dark wizard was striding purposefully towards them, with a spell already on the tip of his tongue. The curse was launched and it hit Hagrid squarely in the chest launching him backwards, right into the freezing cold barrier. Hagrid howled in pain as it shredded the back of his coat and skin before he managed to pull himself out, falling to his knees with a loud crash. Harry ran over shouting his friend's name and tried to pull him up and away from the deadly curse blocking their path. Harry looked back and saw the Grindelwald thing continue his approach and knew they were trapped, there was nothing he could do.

He heard it then, a noise of a hundred voices chanting in unison, " _We are many, we are one, we are Legion._ " over and over again louder each time.

"Hagrid, it's the snakes from the entrance, they're coming!" Harry shouted in relief.

Hagrid groaned and gave him a tired look, "They won't move from that spot.. not unless.. Tom!"

The dark wizard stopped in his tracks as he heard the same sounds as Harry, he gave his wand a powerful twirl in the air and the temperature dropped again and the winds became fiercer, shattering the floor and walls and sending jagged shards of stone everywhere.

" _We are many, we are one, we are Legion._ " the hissing continued non-stop, and Harry cried out in warning, not wanting to see the snakes suffer the same fate as their brother.

There was a bright orange glow beyond the wind and the Chamber filled with silence as the icy storm instantly stopped and Harry felt warmth envelope him.

"Rubeus! Hold on to Harry!" the voice, magically enhanced, echoed from the dark corridor beyond the entrance. Hagrid found his strength at that moment and stood up, lifting Harry close to him.

Harry had a clear view of the entrance and his mouth dropped open in awe as he watched the power of the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Tom Riddle. It was a tidal wave, there was no other way to describe it. The snakes moved as one, rising up higher than Hagrid, and then crashing down again with great force, with no signs of distress or injury. The mass split, leaving an empty space around Hagrid, then hurtled towards the intruder, hissing defiantly at the ineffectual spells targeting it, where one or two fell, a dozen more were there to take it's place. Grindelwald lowered his wand, threw his cloak back, hissed in a deep breath and screamed, " _S_ _ **T**_ _O_ _ **P**_ _!_ "

It was as if the swarm of snakes hit a solid wall, as the creatures in front suddenly turned and started to move back against the tide, hissing and biting at each other. A ball of light flew above Harry, and above the snakes and flew towards the shadowed figure, it exploded with a flash filling the whole chamber with a blinding light. When Harry was able to open his eyes again, he saw a figure standing next to him and Hagrid.

"Professor Riddle!" Harry was overwhelmed with relief, as the Headmaster gave him a reassuring smile.

"We'll talk later Harry. Rubeus, you look like hell. I supposed you won't leave if I ask you to?" Riddle waved his wand at Hagrid's back, and the bloody wounds started to stitch themselves.

Hagrid snorted, "Of course not Tom, let's get this son of a-" he looked down remembering Harry and stopped. "Hmph, just like old times, Tom."

"Just like old times." Riddle agreed. He turned to Harry, who was back on the ground. "Harry, just stay behind us. Alright?"

Harry just nodded as the two professors stood side by side, in front of him. Harry looked ahead and was surprised to see that the swarm of snakes had split up into smaller clumps, moving aside to the edge of the Chamber, as if they were anticipating the chaos that was just about to unfold. The three wizard stood there just waiting for someone to make the first move.

It started with a jet of red light directed at the Headmaster and slowly more and more spells flew through the air. The two Hogwarts professors worked as one, moving slowly forward taking turns to attack then shield then attack again. Fire roared and lightning crackled in the air and Grindelwald was slowly pushed back, concentrating more on defending himself.

" _A_ _ **v**_ _a_ _d_ **a** -" the dark wizard began.

Hagrid roared and used his wand like a mallet, smashing it onto the stone floor, " _REDUCTO_!"

The floor cracked and chunks of stone lifted into the air, Professor Riddle quickly flicked his wand, levitating them in a protective circle in front of them.

"- **K** _eda_ **vra!** " there was a flash of light and a green bolt of death flew towards Riddle. He flicked his wand again and one of the floating stones shot forward to meet the spell, disintegrating with a bright green flame. He blocked several more spells with the broken floor, as Hagrid sent his own magical fire towards his target.

" **E** _NO_ **UG** _H_!" he waved his wand in a harsh arc in front of them and a strong gust of wind blew towards the Hogwarts three, knocking Harry onto the floor.

"Alright then, who are you?" Riddle still had his wand pointed at the intruder but refrained from casting any spells. "Are you the one who opened the Chamber before? Are you a former student of Hogwarts?"

There was no reply. Harry scrambled to his feet and whispered to the two professors in front of him. "It's Grindelwald."

The two wizards in front of him flinched at the name but didn't show any other reaction. "Grindelwald?" Riddle questioned, not Harry but the mysterious figure.

" **I** _t s_ **e** _e_ **m** _s the_ **re i** _s n_ **o** _po_ **i** _n_ **t in st** _ay_ **i** _n_ **g a** _ny l_ **o** _n_ **g** _e_ **r. W** _e_ **sh** _al_ **l l** _e_ **a** _ve_." the figure ignored the Headmaster again and raised his wand. At the sudden movement Professors Riddle and Hagrid shot out curses at the intruder, which were easily deflected. He moved his wand in a complicated pattern ending with a spin above his head, and he intoned clearly. " _ **F**_ _el_ _ **le**_ _n_ _ **snê**_ _os_ _ **tru**_ _m._ "

Another storm appeared, more powerful than before, screaming towards the Hogwarts professors. A straggling snake caught in the winds was frozen solid in an instant, then shattered into a thousand pieces.

Riddle put his spare hand on Hagrid's arm and when the giant figure turned to him he gave his friend a little nod. They both raised their wand and held it close together. " _Conflagratio draconem!_ " Tom Riddle and Rubeus Hagrid bellowed together.

Intense blue flames erupted from both wands and swirled in a single point in front of them, and grew into a shape of an egg, but bigger than Harry's own head. It ate up more and more of the fire and Harry felt goosebumps as the magic emanating from it touched his skin. Eventually the flames from the wands receded and Harry felt time almost stop as he heard the cracking of the burning shell. With a deafening roar and a great flash of red light a dragon, made entirely of flames, emerged from the concentration of magic. It grew rapidly until it reached the size of a large house and it flew towards the eye of the storm while belching out great quantities of scorching blue flames. The icy winds howled with rage and the fire-dragon roared in defiance, as they met in the centre of the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry's senses stopped for a moment as the two forces of nature collided in the confined space, and waves of light and sound and magic rippled throughout the room. Harry's vision finally cleared and the dragon was gone, as well as the fell winds, and he saw the dark wizard fallen onto one knee.

Professor Riddle showed no hesitation as he hissed out to the room, " _Capture him!_ "

The snakes, that had retreated to the furthest corners of the room, sprang up and flew towards the intruder like a thousand javelins in the air, fangs bared and ready to strike.

With a shriek he raised himself off his knee and waving his wand again he cried out. " **Sc** _a_ **tok** _râ_ _j_ **a** _we_ **h** _sa_ **lôn!** "

At first nothing seemed to happen and the snakes continued to fall towards the intruder, but when one finally closed in on him, it seemed to shiver and the smooth skin bubbled slightly. Tar like plumage erupted from the snakeskin and it's body was collapsing as if an invisible giant was crushing it. Wings sprouted as the transformed creature gave a harsh caw, it twisted into the air and in a flurry of feathers it shot up and started gliding towards Riddle, Hagrid and Harry Potter. Harry heard the panicked hissing of the swarm as more and more were transfigured into crows and flew towards the their former master, with intent to damage and maim.

Harry started shaking violently and there was a flash of pain in his scar, he unconsciously gripped the back of Hagrid's coat to stop himself from falling over. He looked up and Harry thought he saw the dark wizard shrinking before a dozen birds flew in front of him blocking his view for only a second, but when he looked at the spot again, the figure was gone. Harry only vaguely noticed Professor Riddle wave his wand as a wall of fire appeared, surrounding them, but this didn't stop the birds. They cawed zealously as they threw themselves into the fire and although the spell managed to stop the first few from crossing through, there were far too many and several managed to pass with burning feathers and blistered, bloody skin.

Riddle and Hagrid tried to use more magic to fend off the swarm and Harry swung his arms around trying to ignore the pecks and scratches that were being inflicted on him. He closed his eyes and through the cacophony of the crows and the spells, Harry thought he could hear maniacal laughter. He suddenly thought of Malfoy waiting around a corner waiting to ambush him and his friends, he thought of the Quidditch match, he wondered if he would finally get to play and with that final though, he fainted.


	9. Year 1 - Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **By Your Side**

Harry heard the sound of people speaking quietly around him. He blinked open his eyes and found himself staring once again at the ceiling of the hospital wing. He remembered why he was here, the crows and Grindelwald, but he felt oddly calm. He was vaguely aware that he had experienced mind numbing terror and more pain than he ever felt his whole life in the Chamber, but right now, lying on the bed, he felt completely at peace.

He shuffled his body and sighed contentedly and the sound of people whispering stopped. The curtains separating Harry's bed from view parted softly and a head peeked in to look at the boy. Professor Riddle gave Harry a wide smile and received a dazed grin in return. Madam Pomfrey quickly came to her patient's side and moved her wand slowly over his body, and longer over his head, before she asked, "How are you feeling, Mr. Potter?"

Harry just stared at her blankly for a moment, "Oh, are you talking to me? I'm feeling alright, thank you." his mouth then snapped shut and he snorted a laugh at the sound of his own voice.

"Poppy, how much calming draught have you given him?" McGonagall's voice was a mixture of worry with a hint of amusement.

"Too much it seems. But I couldn't watch him wake up from his sleep again, screaming murder the moment his eyes opened." Madam Pomfrey shook her head and tutted at Harry. It was the kind of reaction that would have normally annoyed him, but right now he didn't really care, he just smiled up at the witch looking at him with sorry eyes. "It should wear off quite soon, but it might be a good idea to try and get him talking before it does, maybe allow his friends to come see him."

"Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger should be in the common room. It's a bit late, but seeing as it's a Saturday tomorrow, perhaps we can allow them a brief visit." Professor McGonagall suggested, as she turned to the Headmaster who gave her a small nod. "I shall go fetch them."

Harry just sat there listening, he thought it would be quite nice to see his friends. Then he frowned, something about what the Professor had just said didn't make sense. It was just Friday when he went down to the Chamber of Secrets, so either his time in there was surprisingly short, or..

"Quidditch!" Harry suddenly shouted.

Professor Riddle laughed. "The match was postponed Harry, it's scheduled to go ahead tomorrow, but..."

"Absolutely not, Headmaster! Mr. Potter needs his rest, I absolutely will not allow him to fly around on a broom in his current state." Madam Pomfrey said firmly.

"Oh." Harry was disappointed. He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again. He didn't really feel like arguing with the school nurse. He noticed the Headmaster was trying to suppress a smile. Harry looked at him closely and memories from inside the Chamber started to trickle back into his mind. "How is your diamond… snake thingy, Professor?"

"Ah, you mean Cencri don't you?" he smiled at his student. "She is recovering, but she will be fine Harry."

"She was beautiful." Harry blurted out, still dazed.

Riddle let out a chuckle, "She is, isn't she? I'll be sure to tell her you said that, she never tires of getting compliments about her looks."

Harry asked for a glass of water, which the Professor poured for him. After he took a big gulp, he asked carefully. "Did... did you manage to... catch him?"

Professor Riddle's smile faded a little. "Maybe we should leave that topic for anoth- Ah, perfect timing. Your friends are here."

The doors to the room slammed open and a red faced Ron and Hermione ran inside and up to Harry's bed, ignoring Madam Pomfrey's cry of, "This is a hospital wing!"

"Harry, are you okay?" Ron and Hermione both asked at once, looking very worried.

"I'm fine! They gave me some kind of potion and I'm feeling pretty good." Harry grinned at them.

Professor McGonagall walked in, slightly red cheeked, "I understand you were worried about your friend, but if I see you running in the corridors again I will be taking points from Gryffindor."

They said they wouldn't and they pulled up two chairs next to Harry's bed. Professor Riddle turned to the other adults in the room, "I think we should allow them a moment to themselves."

They all nodded and the professors left the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey to attend to another patient, allowing the three first years to talk.

"We were so worried, Harry." Hermione said with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, we came to see you a few day ago." Ron shuddered. "You woke up and..."

"I don't remember waking up..." Harry mumbled, the last memory he had was of inside the Chamber of Secrets.

"I'm not surprised. Madam Pomfrey quickly got you to drink a potion and it put you back to sleep." Hermione told him. "It was really bad... we thought you..."

"So what happened in the Chamber?" Ron asked after an awkward silence, trying to change the subject. Harry didn't object, seeing his friends' reaction, he really didn't want to know what had happened the last time they visited.

So Harry told them everything, starting from the moment they landed on the swarm of snakes. He didn't mention the voice from inside his mind, the words from the long forgotten dreams, just thinking about it sent a shiver down Harry's spine, causing Hermione to frown in worry. But talking to his friends seemed to help, his mind was getting clearer and he was starting to remember the terrible things, but he felt safe here.

He quickly carried on with the story and Harry was telling them about Hagrid's timely arrival when he asked them a question, "You managed to get out and find him then?

"It was amazing, the snakes just lifted us up and carried us all the way to the bathroom." Hermione said. "I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to carry Ron back up to the school, but thankfully I didn't have to leave him behind."

"No, you just left me asleep in the middle of the girls bathroom, with Moaning Myrtle for company." Ron muttered.

"Well, you were unconscious Ron. Besides if I didn't hurry, who knows what would have happened." Hermione said defensively, it had already been a week but it was still obvious Ron was still sore about it. "I went straight to Hagrid's house and he started running towards the school the moment I told him where you'd gone Harry. I went to Madam Pomfrey afterwards, for you Ron.

Ron smiled sheepishly at this and muttered a thanks. Harry coughed and asked him. "Were you okay then, Ron?" Despite Legion's reassurances he had still been quite worried.

"Yeah, I was fine. She gave me an antidote and I was awake in minutes. She wouldn't let us leave the hospital wing though. She locked the door and ran off." Ron looked slightly embarrassed as if he was trying to justify why they weren't in the Chamber with Harry.

Ron urged him on and they were open mouthed with awe when Harry told them about Hagrid's duel with the dark wizard. His voice broke when he told them about his brief serpentine friend. "...and Legion.. he.. he died."

They gave him a look of sympathy but Harry felt they didn't really seem to understand the affection he felt for the snake, even though he told them it had helped save his life. Still, they allowed him a moment to take a sip of water and calm down slightly.

"I thought it was all over then, I really thought we were going to die. But that was when..." Harry told them about the tide of snakes, and Professor Riddle's magic. If they seemed awestruck before, now they just seemed about to burst with absolute wonder at his story.

Harry couldn't help but grin at their reaction. It had been a life or death situation for him, but what he had witnessed that day was truly the most magnificent thing he had ever seen in all his life. He had always known Professor Riddle was a great wizard, it was obvious from what the students and staff at the school said about him, but even after his meetings with the headmaster, he thought he got his job by being a good educator and administrator and didn't immediately associate him with earth shattering power. If he could imagine anyone manipulating magical forces like he had seen that day, he would have thought it would have been someone like the Dumbledore brothers.

Harry frowned at the thought. "Where was Professor Dumbledore?"

Ron shrugged and Hermione said, "I heard him talking to Professor Riddle the day after, he was sent an urgent owl and had to leave. I didn't hear where he was though."

"So what happened after Professor Riddle and Hagrid's fire-dragon thing?" Ron asked.

"That was when..." Harry told them about the snakes launching themselves at the intruder and the spell that transformed them all into crows.

"So that's where they all came from..." Hermione said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"The crows! They suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and they were flying all over the school. Some even burst into the hospital wing and messed the whole place up." Ron explained.

"I'm glad we were kept in here though, some of them even managed to get into the dormitories and there were a few injuries when people started to panic and try to rush to the exits." Hermione said.

"Did anyone get hurt?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Nah, just a few scrapes and bumps. I think there might have been a Slytherin that broke his arm, but who cares anyway." Ron said offhandedly.

"Ron! You shouldn't say that!" Hermione scolded him.

Harry laughed, it was sort of nice to hear them argue, it felt like things were back to normal again. "It's good no one got hurt."

Ron leaned back against his chair, looking past the curtains. "Oh I forgot, there's someone who's been in the hospital wing as long as you. Filch's still hasn't woken up, I think."

"Filch?" Harry hadn't even mentioned him when he was telling his friends about that night. "I've completely forgotten about him! I walked into him getting to the Chamber of Secrets. He was already unconscious when I saw him though, and he was covered in snakebites."

Ron's hand moved over to his arm, where he'd been bitten by the snake. "Really? I just thought he fell down the stairs or something."

"Do you think he helped break into the Chamber?" Harry asked. "Myrtle mentioned that he seemed to be in a hurry that night."

"I don't think so. I don't think Professor Riddle would leave him here unguarded if he had anything to do with it, even though he isn't awake." Hermione said.

"Harry... did you see-" Ron started.

But Hermione cut him off. "Ron! We said we wouldn't ask!"

"Ask what?" Harry was confused as Ron gave Hermione a guilty look. "Come on, you can ask me anything."

Hermione just sighed and Ron asked him. "Did you see him? Grindelwald? None of professors are saying anything, but with that huge flock of crows, everyone's saying Grindelwald's back and that he attacked Hogwarts."

"It's not that bad Harry. A few people have gone off their heads with panic. There are a few wild rumours flying around but most people don't really know what to think. Some people are even suggesting it was a prank by your brothers Ron. Fred and George." Hermione said.

Ron snorted. "Well they're saying they didn't do it, and I believe them. If they pulled a prank like that mum would definitely skin them alive."

Harry stayed quiet and his friends turned to him and waited expectantly. When he was there, he was positive that the intruder was Grindelwald, but thinking about it now the only reason he did so was because of the sound of his voice reminded him of his nightmares. But he was only a baby when the dark wizard had tried to kill him, how could he even remember what he would have sounded like?

"I don't... know if it was Grindelwald." Harry said slowly. "He was wearing a hooded cloak and his face was always covered in shadows, I never got a good look at him. The Headmaster tried to ask, but he just ignored him."

His friends seemed to look slightly disappointed and extremely relieved at the same time. Hermione said thoughtfully, "Well if it really was Grindelwald, I don't think the Headmaster would hide the truth from everyone, and I don't think the Ministry would either."

"The Ministry?" Harry asked.

"Professor Riddle called them, there were Aurors all around the castle for a few days afterwards, there were even stories about it in the Prophet." Ron said. "But they just said that someone was trying to break into Hogwarts to steal something and that they used the birds as a distraction."

"Do you know what this stone the intruder was looking for was?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. "He never said, and I didn't really get a chance to ask."

"No, it doesn't sound like you did." Ron laughed. "I wonder what it is though.. Must be really valuable if your desperate enough to try and break into Gringotts and then Hogwarts."

Harry leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment, he was starting to get tired again. Hermione said softly, "Harry why don't you try and get some more sleep."

"Yeah, I think I will. Thanks, Hermione. Thanks, Ron, both of you, for coming to see me." Harry said sleepily and let out a yawn.

Ron stood up. "No problem Harry. We should get some sleep too, we don't want to miss the Quiddi-"

Harry's eyes shot open and he sat up straight. "What's happening with the Gryffindor team?"

Hermione gave Ron an annoyed glare. Ron mumbled, "Sorry, didn't mean to mention that... they're just flying the same team as last time. Alicia playing Seeker. You can't fly can you?"

"Madam Pomfrey says she won't let me, I'm going to ask if I can go watch though." Harry sighed. "You were right Hermione, we should have gone straight to Hagrid. I wouldn't be in this stupid bed if we just... Is Oliver angry at me?"

"Erm... Not really." Hermione said. "Everyone just thinks you were injured when all the crows appeared and Oliver understands with your... past and all. Professor Riddle told us not to tell anyone that we were in the Chamber."

Harry sighed. He wasn't sure if he should feel relieved that Oliver wasn't annoyed at him, or horrified that the whole school thought he fainted and was hospitalised for a week because of some birds. His friends said goodnight and left him in his bed. He closed his eyes and was drifting off to sleep, when Madam Pomfrey came to check up on him.

"Feeling better, Mr. Potter?" she was moving her wand over his head.

"Yeah, I'm just feeling tired." Harry managed to say. He hesitated a moment then asked, "Can I at least go watch the match tomorrow?"

She pursed her lips, "We'll see how you are in the morning, Mr. Potter, and decide then."

That sounded like a no.

* * *

Harry woke up the next morning feeling well rested and clear headed but also very hungry. Madam Pomfrey was by his side soon after and even though he insisted he was fine now, she still made him have breakfast in the hospital wing but she did seem happier when she saw him eat with obvious relish. He asked her again if he could go watch the Griffindor/Ravenclaw match, but the nurse just told him to finish eating.

"I'll clear that up for you Mr. Potter." she waved her wand over the tray of empty dishes when Harry finished eating and it vanished with a pop. Then she stood over him with her hands on her hips. "You may go watch the game, but I want you back here straight after to make sure you're okay, and if you feel unwell at any point during the match, I want you to get back here. Alright?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically, "I will, thank you." the clock on the wall was telling him that the match would be starting soon, he stood up and hopped off the bed.

"Before you go, the Headmaster said he wanted a word." Madam Pomfrey quickly mentioned.

"Oh, at his office?" Harry asked.

"No he should be here any moment." she replied.

Harry heard a grunt and mumble from somewhere and Madam Pomfrey left Harry to tend to the other patient in the room. Harry waited, quite impatiently, for five minutes before the doors opened and Professor Riddle walked through.

Riddle saw Harry's expression and gave him a placating smile. "I'm presuming you've been given permission to go watch the match. I'll try not to keep you too long, but I think we should have a little chat about the incident in the Chamber."

"Oh." Harry had thought that the Headmaster just wanted to make sure he was doing okay. He wanted to go, but he also wanted to know what Professor Riddle was going to say. The Professor drew the curtains and muttered a short spell, Harry presumed it was for privacy.

"First of all I would like to thank you and commend your bravery for coming to the aid of someone in need." Riddle said with a smile. "Cencri sends her most heartfelt appreciation."

Harry blushed and mumbled something. Then the headmaster's expression turned more serious.

"I have already learnt most of what happened after you entered the Chamber from talking to Hagrid and Cencri, but there are a few questions I would like to ask you." he pulled up the chair Hermione had used the night before and sat next to Harry. "You said... that the wizard was Grindelwald. Cencri tells me... that you somehow came to the conclusion that the intruder was Grindelwald after he said your name."

"Erm..." Harry hesitated, it was a part of that night he wasn't sure he wanted to share with anyone. He hadn't even shared it with Ron and Hermione.

The Headmaster continued softly. "From what she heard before you arrived in the Chamber, she had no idea who he was. The crows and the spells he used are not definitive proof of his identity either. They are spells that the dark wizard was known to have used in the past, but they are not unique to him and given enough time and effort anyone could have learned to use those. I need to know if there is anything else you can tell me."

"It..it was his voice..." Harry said quietly.

"His voice?" Riddle frowned. "The intruder had his voice magically disguised, I would have recognised it myself if it was the voice of Grindelwald. How do you even know what he sounded like? The only time you..."

Riddle stopped but Harry knew what he was about to say. The only time Harry had ever been close enough to the dark wizard to hear his voice was when he was a baby, when his parents were killed and he was almost murdered himself. Harry bit his lips, if anyone deserved to hear it, it would be the man who had saved his life.

"I..I used.. to have these dreams... these nightmares really. A long time ago. I'd forgotten about them, until that day... when he said my name, bits of it came rushing back." Harry took a deep breath before continuing. "I didn't know what it was back then, but... with what I know now, about magic and stuff, I think I'm remembering the.. the day.. my parents.. died."

Harry looked down at his hands and he took another deep breath, Professor Riddle laid a gentle hand on his shoulder sat there quietly. Harry appreciated the gesture but wished he hadn't done it, he felt he was close to tears and he really didn't want to cry in front of the Headmaster. It was a couple more minutes until he could look back up at the Professor, he wasn't crying but he was thankful that the Professor didn't mention the wetness of his eyes.

"Can you talk about what you can remember?" Riddle asked gently.

Harry nodded. "I don't remember much. Just a few disjointed words. Something about.. a stone and brothers. Also a cloak? I think."

Harry watched the Headmaster's expression, but it just remained a sympathetic smile encouraging him to carry on.

"The there was something about... a child... being protected. Then something about... a Killing Curse?" Harry noticed Riddle's eyes widen for a brief half-second before he controlled his expression. "That's all I remember. Apart from... the nightmares always ended with a... flash of green light."

At these words the Headmaster squeezed Harry's shoulder tightly, before the teacher could say anything Harry asked, "Is it a real memory? Or is it just... a nightmare?"

"It... sounds like it could be a memory." Riddle sighed. "It seems to raise more questions than it answers though."

Tom Riddle remained silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought. Harry hesitantly interrupted him, "Sir, can I ask about the stone? The one Cencri was guarding."

Riddle smiled at him, "Ah yes, the Stone. It's been removed now but you've definitely earned the right to know what she was guarding, I don't mind telling you, but it will be public knowledge before long. A reporter for the Daily Prophet somehow managed to get her hands on the information and it will probably be in an evening edition of the paper. I could tell you now if you would like, but I thought there was somewhere else you wanted to be?"

Harry frowned in confusion, before he jumped up in shock. "Yes Professor, may I be excused?"

Riddle gave him an amused nod and half-heartedly told him not to run in the corridors. Harry thanked him and walked out of the hospital wing, then broke into a run towards the Quidditch pitch. Tom Riddle rubbed his tired eyes and sighed in relief, and he quietly thanked Quidditch for keeping the young boy's mind off much more serious things, things Harry shouldn't have to deal with until he was much older.

* * *

Harry barely managed to get to the stands before the match ended. People were whispering and pointing at him, but thankfully Gryffindor scored a goal and with a loud cheer, everyone's attention was back on the game. That goal was one of a very few that Gryffindor managed to score and it was no surprise to anyone when the Ravenclaw Seeker caught the Golden Snitch and Gryffindor suffered one of the worst defeats in Hogwarts' history.

Harry flinched when he caught Oliver Wood's eye and the captain zoomed over to the Gryffindor stands. He looked at Harry with a determined look in his eyes and just said, "Next year." then flew away before Harry could respond. When he returned to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey very reluctantly said he would be allowed to go back to the dormitories, but he was given several bottles of potions that he would have to take every night for a week before going to sleep.

The Evening Prophet arrived to a handful of students and most of the staff during dinner time, it started off with a few whispers but eventually the whole Hall was talking excitedly about the object that had been guarded by Hogwarts. Harry had no idea what a 'Philosopher's Stone' was but thankfully he was friends with Hermione, who explained to him and Ron, as well as everyone around her, what this legendary object could do. It was big news and remained the topic of conversation for several days, but eventually the excitement died down and returned to subjects more relatable. They talked about Ravenclaw winning the Quidditch Cup, they talked about the upcoming final task of the Triwizard Tournament (Sammy, the Hogwarts Champion, apparently had a good chance of winning) and they talked about Harry Potter's week long stay in the hospital wing.

Harry was both thankful and extremely annoyed by the fact that the school didn't know that he had been in the Chamber of Secrets. He was already under a spotlight being the 'boy who lived' and he really didn't want any more attention thrown in his direction. On the other hand, everyone seemed to be treating him like a fragile little thing that needed looking after. Malfoy was obviously gleeful at the whole situation and started mocking him again, but even that was almost preferable to the students walking past him, giving him a look of utter pity, avoiding eye contact and whispering as if he was on his death bed.

His friends remained loyal to him and didn't treat him any differently but he secretly wished he could tell them the truth, but as the days passed he decided he didn't really want to talk about it. Telling the story to Ron and Hermione had been good for him but he knew it would be a struggle to repeat again.

He did, however, finally manage to get the photograph he had always wanted to take. The day after he was released from Madam Pomfrey's care, he took his camera and went down to Hagrid's place with Ron and Hermione. Hagrid was busy preparing for the upcoming exams in the Forbidden Forest, but a grim looking Remus Lupin let them inside.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help." Remus began, before they even sat down. "I was here when you came, Hermione, heard everything you said, but... it was a full moon that night."

"There's nothing to be sorry about-" Harry began.

"I'd taken the potion and everything, I would have been able to..." Remus ignored him, "I heard what happened in the Chamber, I should have been there for you."

"Hagrid was there, and Professor Riddle, everything was-" Ron tried.

"I just didn't want you to see me.,. like that.." the werewolf spat, then he sighed and turned away from them. "I'm sorry James, I've failed you..."

"REMUS!" Harry, Ron and Hermione shouted.

He turned his head to look at the three students, Harry looked to his two friends then back at the groundskeeper. "Remus, I know that you would have come to help without hesitation if it... wasn't a full moon. I don't really know what it's like to be a werewolf, but even with the potion, it can't be all that good. I understand, and I'm sure my dad would too."

Lupin gave Harry a small smile, but still looked quite gloomy. He at least stopped rambling apologies and Harry was able to ask him to take a photo outside the house. Harry stood in the middle with Ron and Hermione on either side of him, on the same spot as the photo Remus had given him and they smiled widely at the camera.

Harry spent the next few days taking photos of his classmates, the castle, Hedwig and anything else he could think of. He even sneaked into the Chamber, with a slightly reluctant Ron and Hermione, to take a picture of the room as well as the snakes. He was relieved to hear the whispering noises when he entered the girls bathroom, and went down the stone steps (this time calling for the snakes rather than jumping down) to find a much smaller mound of serpents. They told him that the Headmaster had managed to find and transfigure back a few of them, and that they were going to be able to breed back into their former colony (Ron and Hermione turned slightly pale when Harry translated this bit of information).

He took in a deep breath before entering the actual Chamber. He wasn't sure if he was allowed in or not but he hadn't just gone there to take pictures, he wanted to confront his fear. The potion Madam Pomfrey had given him had helped, but he still sometimes felt like he couldn't breath when he thought about what had happened here. Cencri, the diamond skinned weardwyrm, greeting them with her mystical chiming voice and seemed very pleased when he asked her if he could take a photograph. She insisted he take several of her in different poses, and Harry was glad he had spent most of the film before coming here. Just before he left he asked her if she could not mention his little visit to Professor Riddle, to which she just said "I'll think about it." and made a noise between a hiss and a giggle.

Harry had the film developed with Remus' help and he was happy with the way they turned out, especially the one of him, Ron and Hermione. Hagrid and Remus also had a gift for him, an album already half filled with photos of Harry's parents and their friends, the rest of the pages he would fill himself.

With Quidditch season out of the way, Harry could concentrate on revising for the end of year exams, which he thought he did quite well in. He was especially pleased with his Defence Against the Dark Arts practical exam, where Professor Dumbledore individually tested them by having them cast certain spells.

"Very well done Harry, full marks I should think." Dumbledore said after Harry finished the test by successfully using the counterspell for the Leg-Locker Curse. "Not surprising considering your little foray into the Chamber of Secrets."

"Thank you Professor Dumbledore." Harry said after getting back onto his feet. He was a little surprised, the Professor hadn't mentioned the incident at all until now. "I wasn't much use though, none of my spells actually managed to hit. Thinking about it now, I probably should have gone straight to Hagrid, or another professor."

"Perhaps, but were you not under the impression that there was someone in trouble, someone you were certain would come to irrevocable harm if you did not act at once? And even in the most dire of circumstances were you not able to keep your head cool and act with utmost bravery?" he continued with a smile on his face. "Harry, you acted like a true Gryffindor, I think you should be very proud of yourself."

Harry left the classroom a lot happier than before and he stayed in a good mood until the end of term, which only improved when he passed all his exams. At the end of year feast the Great Hall was decorated with blue and bronze, the colour of Ravenclaw house. Harry cheered along with everyone else when Professor Riddle announced the winners of the House Cup, and also when he commended Sammy Omiata, who didn't manage to win the Triwizard Tournament, but by all accounts put up a very good fight. She even gave another spectacular fireworks display at the end of the feast which was greeted with rapturous applause.

Then finally... it was time to go. It was something Harry had obviously been expecting, but seeing the empty dorm room still hit him hard.

"We should get going or we'll be late Harry." Ron said as he left the room, Harry was still standing there with a wistful look on his face.

"Yeah, I just want to make sure I've got everything." Harry replied. He felt like he missed the place already, even though he knew he would be back soon enough. Besides, he now had friends that would write to him and Ron also promised to invite him to his house. He took out a photo from his robes, a photo of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his two best friends standing next to him looking as if there was no place they would rather be. He smiled, put the photo back into his pocket and left the room.

 **End of Year 1**

* * *

Tom Riddle was in his office, he had his legs crossed on his desk and was tilting his chair back onto two legs. There was grumbling coming from some of the portraits hanging on the walls, but they were used to this by now, Tom always sat like this when he had a lot to think about. He wished he had some Firewhisky in his office and sighed when he remembered his promise to his wife that he wouldn't keep any in here. He absent-mindedly stroked Nagini, who was coiled up on the floor next to him, while staring up at the ceiling.

Because of this, Tom didn't see the little mirror on his desk flash an image of Minerva McGonagall, with her name underneath. He muttered something when he heard someone knock and was about to stand up when the door pushed open. He smiled and relaxed again when he saw who it was.

"I can see under your robes, Tom." Minerva chided him.

"You see it often enough, Minnie." Tom smirked. There was some quiet giggling coming from one of the portraits, Minerva just gave a snort and conjured up a chair. With a groan, Tom lifted his legs off the table and sat in a more dignified position, one more befitting for the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Has the train left?"

Minerva nodded. "Aberforth's riding with them. I know you told him you didn't expect trouble, but I think he's still feeling guilty for not being here during the break-in."

Tom sighed. "Neither was I. I didn't think anyone would be able to get in, I really didn't."

"Have you found out anything else? Anything from what Potter told you?" Minerva questioned. "...Do you think it was really Grindelwald?"

Tom let out a tired sigh and rubbed his eyelids with his thumbs. "I don't know, but.. if he was back already, I'm sure there would have been more clues leading to his return. And then he reappears trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone? I don't know... it feels like we're missing something."

He heard a clinking noise and opened his eyes, he was surprised to see the Deputy Headmistress pouring him a glass of Ogden's Old Firewhisky. She handed him a glass and raised her own, they clinked a toast with their glasses and took a sip. Tom shuddered as he felt the burning sensation down his throat then he raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

Minerva shrugged. "The school year is technically over, with all the students gone. Besides, you look like you could use it."

"Thank you Minnie, it's like you've read my mind." he grinned at her.

They sat there quietly for a moment, sipping their drinks. Minerva hesitantly opened her mouth. "Did.. did you find out.. where he was?"

Tom grunted. "No, I had to be careful who I asked, but so far no one can confirm his whereabouts during the break-in."

The whole thing was a mess. It was definitely a dark wizard, he had no doubts about that, and someone who could use very advanced spells that Grindelwald was known to have used. On top of that a Parselmouth, something never before associated with the King of Crows. Did it have something to do with the person who opened the Chamber during his time as a student? And then Harry Potter... how on earth did he inherit the ability? And the voice, it was disguised, but could Harry sense something he could not? More question, always more questions.

Minerva raised the bottle and gave him a questioning look. He smiled and gave her a nod. "Thank you Minerva. Just one more. And thank you always for being by my side."

* * *

 **A/N**

Thank you for all the reviews, favourites, follows and thank you to everyone else who took the time to read my little story. Sorry it took so long to say this, I just got it into my head that I shouldn't respond to anything until I finish writing the first year. No idea why.

In case anyone is still wondering about the review questions/comments:

Aberforth's reaction to what happened in the prologue will be revealed later.. I'll just leave it at that.

As for Sirius and the godfather thing, I just decided that Harry doesn't have a godfather in this version of events. It doesn't mean Sirius doesn't care and I'm sure he would have argued long and hard to try and get custody, but eventually (reluctantly) agreed to the current arrangements. I know he hasn't been a huge part of the story so far (and might not be huge in the next few years), but I've got plans for him later.

I've been updating twice a week so far and I'll try to keep that up.

To everyone else, thank you once again for leaving a nice review. It gave me a fuzzy feeling inside. =)


	10. Year 2 - Chapter 1

**Year 2**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Family**

The residents of Privet Drive had always considered Harry Potter to be a strange boy. They were the sort of people who thought that scruffiness ought to be punishable by law, and Harry Potter was the scruffiest boy they had ever seen. His clothes were far too big for him (Vernon Dursley had told them that the boy refused to wear anything else), he was seen often bruised or bloody on his way back from school (Dudley Dursley insisted Harry was the one picking the fights, failing to mention the little game he and his gang liked to play, called 'Harry Hunting') and the most unforgivable of all was the untidy mess that was his hair (Petunia Dursley screeched indignatly that this came from his father's side, a scruffy _foreigner_ ).

They were therefore not at all surprised when last year the Dursleys informed them that Harry Potter would be sent off to an institution, menacingly titled St Brutus' Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. The families with children warned their sons and daughters to stay away from this boy, ignoring the fact that the children were all far more scared of Dudley than his thin, bespectacled cousin.

When the nosey neighbours saw him arrive back for the summer holidays from St Brutus', they were wary of him, still with his scruffy clothes and his scruffy hair, but thought that the institution might have done him some good. They watched, waiting for something to kick off but they were glad, and secretly disappointed, when the boy seemed to spend the first week of his holidays locked up in the house, doing god knows what. Passersby heard the occasional roar of anger from Vernon Dursley, punishing the boy for something no doubt, but in the end decided to forget about the 'incurably criminal boy'. Then one day, Harry Potter walked out the front door.

Maureen Wendover, of three Privet Drive was the first to see the boy leave the house. She turned off the vacuum cleaner and walked over to the window, hiding behind the curtains and peeked out to watch what the boy was doing. He still looked messy, but it seemed like he was just taking a walk making his way down the street in no hurry or destination in mind. She was about to turn back to her cleaning when the boy came to a sudden and abrupt stop. She peered around to see what had made him freeze when she noticed a pigeon some four feet ahead of him.

He looked like a cat or a dog standing stock still, trying to stare the animal down. She gasped in shock when the boy suddenly rushed forwards, waving his arms into the air and shouting something unintelligible, right towards the pigeon, which obviously took flight in shock. Harry Potter watched the bird fly away and nodded in grim satisfaction, then as if nothing had happened, he started walking again, down the street.

Maureen watched him until the boy was out of sight, then hurried to her telephone and dialled a number. Across the street a woman grumbled as she put down her mug of tea and muted the television, wondering who was calling her while her favourite show was on. She quickly forgot her tea and her show when she heard about the Potter boy, and his little assault against a pigeon. By the time Harry Potter returned from his walk in the park, half the neighbourhood didn't just think he was just an 'incurably criminal boy', but that he had also lost his mind.

* * *

Harry Potter was in fact losing his mind, figuratively of course. His mind was functioning perfectly, but returning to Privet Drive after he had spent a year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he felt like a bird locked in a cage. Even after his uncle had shouted at him, when rumours of the Potter boy attacking wild animals had reached the Dursleys, he was allowed to leave the house and go for walks, but that was just about all the freedom he was allowed.

Their attitude towards him hadn't changed much since the last time they saw him, which was to ignore him completely. The only time he got more than a one word grunt out of them was when his Uncle Vernon was shouting at him, for mentioning magic in any shape or form. Harry had to try very hard not to laugh the first time this happened, because he could tell from his uncle's expression that while he was angry at him, he was even more frightened and his words seemed to have a hysterical quality to them. He had obviously not forgotten when he was turned into a pig by a professor from Harry's school.

Harry was happy to keep out of their way, deciding not to abuse his newfound power over them, although he had to put his foot down the moment he returned back for the summer. His uncle wanted to lock his school trunk in the cupboard and his aunt insisted she did not want a bird flying around the house. However, he did have homework to do, and he absolutely refused to keep Hedwig in her cage all summer, so he told them, through narrow eyes, that everything he owned would stay in his room. He did however, promise to keep her inside during the day, so the neighbours wouldn't notice her, much to the relief of his aunt.

They had not even attempted to make him do chores all day, like they had done before he received the letter from Hogwarts. His aunt insisted it was because he would destroy the house with his.. freakishness.. but the Dursleys all knew it was because they were terrified of him. If he said 'no' to their demands, they would have been unable to making him do anything and they would lose the small amount of authority they thought they had over the boy.

So Harry spent his days 'talking' to Hedwig, but it wasn't as mad as it sounded. He wasn't sure if she was a magical species of owl or one that had gained something by being surrounded by magic, but he knew that his companion was very smart. She responded to Harry's words with soft coos and little nibbles on his fingers and it almost felt like they were having a conversation. However, when he started talking to the moving photographs of him and his friends he thought it was time to leave his room. He found a purpose when he encountered a pigeon and decided there and then, he would try and get over his ornithophobia. He avoided doing anything while there might be people watching him, but he visited the local parks stalking birds of any species.

Harry hid behind a large tree when he heard the sound of a barking dog, which would usually be followed by someone walking it. It was a Labrador, still quite young by the looks of it, and it had apparently managed to sniff him out from behind the tree and was standing right in front of him, wagging it's tail in excitement. Harry tried to shoo him away, but it was only when the owner shouted out that the dog ran back towards the call.

Harry waited until he saw the man and his pet walk away from him then moved out from behind the tree and kicked the trunk, trying to get the bits of dead grass and mud off of his trainers. He caught sight of another bird, a black one but not as large as a crow, and leapt into action running towards it. While he watched it fly away in satisfaction he heard a shuffling and a grunt and he quickly spun around.

An old man wearing an impeccably ironed shirt and tie was limping across the park, following the path the dog walker had taken. Harry's expression changed from wariness, to relief then to concern for the old man. Major Chilmead was a retired army officer who spent most of his days now less than sober. The other residents of Privet Drive were more than accommodating towards him despite this because he was a war hero, with quite a lot of medals, and he didn't really cause too much trouble for the street. It also helped that the man always seemed to be smartly dressed, although Harry had no idea when the man managed to get his clothes so clean and pressed when he was sure he had always looked like he had a few drinks, no matter the time.

The Major usually kept to himself but Harry thought he knew him better than most others on Privet Drive. When he was six years old, and the Dursleys were planning on going for a weekend away without Harry, his normal babysitter was unavailable at that time. They went around asking their neighbours if they could look after the boy for a few days, and in the end a terrified Harry Potter had to stay with the Major for three days. He was shaking when he stepped through the door and the smell of alcohol hit his nose, he turned to his aunt and begged her with tears in his eyes not to leave him there. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then hearing Dudley's whiny cries telling her to hurry, she turned her back without a word and left him there.

Thankfully, the Major turned out to be a surprisingly nice, but inattentive babysitter. He treated Harry the same way one might treat a dog, by giving him something to eat, a place to sleep and the occasional pat on the head. The food was not the warm comforting cooking of a family meal, but it was nice and filling and definitely more than what he was allowed to eat at the Dursleys and obviously a proper bed was so much better than sleeping under the stairs. He watched television and went out on a daily walk with the veteran and best of all he didn't have to do any chores.

The Major ended up being the Dursley's child minder of choice after that, since he didn't seem to know he could be paid for his troubles, Uncle Vernon had even warned Harry not to mention anything to the kind old man. In the following years Harry learned to enjoy the quiet man's company and the Major even seemed to look forward to Harry's visits, mentioning once that it felt like having a son or grandson. He could spend a whole day just sitting on the couch, reading a book Major Chilmead had bought him, while not exchanging a single word with the man, but it was nothing like the way the Dursleys were ignoring him now, he knew he could ask for anything and wouldn't immediately be called an ungrateful little scrounger. Harry had on more than one occasion, wished he could stay there permanently and not go back to his relatives, but he never said his thoughts out loud. If the Dursleys knew he liked staying there, they might prevent him from ever going back, just to spite him.

The Major nearly tripped over a clump of grass and Harry was running towards him, ready to catch him if he fell. He seemed mildly surprised when the black haired boy seemed to appear out of nowhere. "You.. hmm.. Harry Potter. Yes. Right. Hmm.. Haven't seen you for a while."

"No sir, I went to a... boarding school." Harry couldn't tell him the lie about St Brutus', even after his uncle had warned him not to say anything else. "I'm back for the summer."

The man nodded absent-mindedly. "Good. Good. I went to a boarding school, you know?"

"Er.. yes sir." Harry vaguely remembered him mentioning something years ago.

The bird that had flown away landed back on the ground close to them, and the Major was startled. "Hmph, just a blackbird."

"You don't like birds?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Hmph, see how you feel when you see the feathery _bastards_ gorging themselves on your fallen squad mates." he said bitterly.

Harry flinched at the tone of voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean.."

He waved his hand at Harry. "Never you mind. I should finish my walk. Off you go Harry."

He started walking again and left Harry there alone. Harry waited for five minutes, until the Major was gone, then he ran at the blackbird.

* * *

Harry did not expect the Dursleys to do anything for his birthday, he doubted they even remembered when it was and just as he thought, the 'very important day' Uncle Vernon had been going on about for weeks turned out to be a dinner party he was throwing for his work. He was happy enough to stay in his room, pretending not to be there, because his friends had sent him cards and presents the week before. He had the forethought to warn his friends not to send any owls on his birthday, his uncle's desire to get the deal signed was greater than his fear of magic and an owl appearing and ruining the dinner was sure to set him off.

Harry had more than his well-being in mind when he tried to keep out of trouble with his uncle, he had offered a sort of trade with him. His birthday presents included a variety of sweets, a few books, spare films for his camera and a multiple use magical party popper from Sirius, which made a bang and shook the house causing a terrified Uncle Vernon to crash into him room wielding a golf club. But his favourite was the note attached to Ron's present with an invitation to spend the last two weeks of the summer holiday with Ron and his family. Ever since Ron mentioned it before leaving school last year, they had been discussing it over letters and Ron's parents had finally agreed to it, they had been insisting that Harry should spend some time with his relatives. With his uncle's mood changing from never wanting to see Harry again and passively trying to make Harry as miserable as possible, he needed to be careful on how to approach him. In the end he managed to get Uncle Vernon to agree to let him go as long as he didn't make any trouble while the Masons were there.

The day finally arrived, with the dinner party a success, and Harry was packed and ready to leave. With the arrival of a fully trained wizard imminent, Dudley had already locked himself in his room while his aunt and uncle were waiting anxiously in the living room.

"Oi." his uncle grunted at him.

"Yes?" Harry replied and his uncle scowled at him. He wasn't being rude on purpose but he was just as nervous as his relatives were about this, as he wasn't sure how they were going to treat the Weasleys when they turned up.

"How are they getting here? They won't be... you know... here? In broad daylight, where the whole neighbourhood can see?" Vernon Dursley asked with a hint of desperation.

Harry thought about his last correspondence with Ron before today and he had just said Mr. Weasley would be here to pick Harry up at midday, without any mention of how this was going to happen. Harry's limited knowledge of magical transportation included broomsticks, trains (both flying and on tracks), phoenixes and he was sure his uncle wouldn't be happy with any one of those suddenly appearing on Privet Drive. He could only say, "I don't know."

They waited in silence for another new minutes and at three minutes past noon Harry heard a deafening bang, almost as loud as Sirius' present, from out on the street, causing Harry to jump up in shock.

His uncle had fallen off the sofa in surprise and reached around the back to retrieve a golf club he had been hiding. He raised it over his head and looked around the room wildly before turning to Harry. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, BOY! JUMPING LIKE THAT ALL OF A SUDDEN, TRYING TO GIVE ME A BLOODY HEART ATTACK!"

Harry just stared at his uncle for a moment, "The noise? Didn't you hear it?"

"THERE IS NO NOISE! DON'T GIVE ME THAT FREAKISHNESS! I-" His uncle stopped when they heard the sound of someone knocking on the front door. Harry, left his raging uncle and ran to the door.

A freckle-faced, red-haired, long-nosed Ron Weasley was standing there with a worried expression on his face. When he saw Harry, his face broke into a smile. "Harry! I wasn't sure if this was the right house, I heard a lot of shouting so I thought..."

"That was just my uncle." Harry explained. "Where's your dad? And did you make that loud noise just a moment ago?"

"Yeah that was us, dad got caught up in Ministry work so mum's here instead." he turned around and shouted. "Mum! He's here! It's the right house!"

Harry looked past Ron to see a plump witch, with fiery red hair briskly walking up towards the house and behind her, to Harry's astonishment, was a triple decker bus, so violently purple it could only have been created by wizards. She walked right up to Harry and gave him a quick hug, "Oh it's good to see you Harry! But we need to get going, they won't stay for us long. Where are your things dear?"

"Erm, right here." Harry picked up his school trunk and an empty owl cage (Hedwig had already flown to Ron's house the day before), but couldn't take his eyes off the bus. "What is..."

Harry heard the sound of a clearing throat and turned around. In all the excitement, he had completely forgotten about his aunt and uncle.

"Oh you must be Harry's aunt and uncle, I'm Molly, very pleased to meet you." looking slightly flustered, but genuinely pleased to meet them. "Arthur couldn't make it, something came up at work. Ron, take Harry's trunk onto the bus!"

Mrs Weasley pulled out her wand (the Duresleys flinched) and tapped Harry's trunk, which allowed Ron to carry it with ease. Harry had noticed for the first time that Mrs. Weasley was wearing her normal robes, which was something the Dursleys would definitely consider 'freakish'. With the addition of the obviously magical purple bus standing garishly on the pavement in front of the house, Harry expected his uncle to explode, but was surprised when he only gave her a disdainful look and grunted.

Harry quickly said. "Mrs. Weasley, this is Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia."

"Hello." Mrs. Weasley said, but seemed too busy to notice their rudeness, and turned to Harry. "I'm sorry Harry, we really must be going. I'm so sorry to leave so quickly without saying a proper hello, maybe we'll have a cup of tea next time?"

Harry tried not to smile as he saw his relatives go pale at the thought of tea with a witch. Mrs. Weasley lifted the owl cage and gave Harry a little push on his shoulders towards his aunt and uncle and looked at him expectantly. It took him a moment to realise that she expected him to say goodbye to them.

"Oh. Erm... Goodbye Uncle Vernon. Goodbye Aunt Petunia. I'll be back next summer." the two of them mumbled a reply.

Mrs. Weasley looked like she wanted to say something more but behind her Ron was shouting, "Mum! They're saying they won't wait any longer!", so she gave the Dursleys a friendly nod and quickly moved towards the bus.

"They're very quiet, aren't they? Your aunt and uncle." she commented as they climbed onto the bus.

"Erm... yeah." Harry walked pass an impatient looking conductor, in the same coloured uniform as the bus, and saw quite a wide space, with a variety of mismatching chairs. The way some of the chairs were wobbling made Harry sure that they were not secured onto the floor. Ron was already seated towards the back with Harry's luggage. "Mrs. Weasley, what's this bus?"

"Oh dear, Ron said you might not have been on it before..." she looked at him worriedly. "I'll tell you everything you want to know once we get off, better not to talk while travelling though. It's easy to bite your tongue."

Ron seemed to have taken this piece of advice to heart, as he just gave Harry a nod when he sat down next to him. He was also looking considerably pale. Harry opened his mouth to say hello but it was forced shut when, with a loud bang, he was thrown back against his chair. He looked out the window and found himself suddenly somewhere that was very much not Privet Drive. By the looks of the traffic lights, the cars and the office block that they just past he thought he was in a city, London perhaps. But it wasn't the sudden change in scenery that had alarmed Harry, it was the fact that the things they had just passed, seemed to be actually leaping out of the way, just in the nick of time, making Harry think that they were going to crash more than once.

Ron had turned a slight shade of green and was looking straight forwards taking no notice of what was going on outside. Harry though that his friend had the right idea and turned away from the windows and firmly kept his eyes shut. The bus made a few more stops, all accompanied by the loud banging noise, before it arrived at Ottery St Catchpole, the small town where the Weasleys lived. Mrs. Weasley levitated Harry's belongings and walked off the bus, pushing Harry along in front of her. Ron had shot off first, and was leaning against a hedge, taking deep breaths.

Harry also took in a deep breath of the warm countryside air and felt instantly better. Behind him was a bridge crossing a river, where he could just make out children splashing around and playing, and all around him were fields of yellow wheat, gently swaying in the breeze. It had been his first experience of rural England, but he liked it very much, despite the buildings he could see in the distance across the bridge, the whole place seemed so much more natural, compared to the rigid lawfulness of suburban Little Whinging.

Mrs. Weasley gave Harry and Ron a moment to reorient themselves after the hectic journey, but quickly led them on, following the road leading away from the river. She looked around then quickly cast another wordless spell on Harry's trunk, levitating it slightly off the ground, he remembered Ron mentioning that Muggles also lived in the town. Ron and Harry took a handle each and followed Mrs. Weasley, chatting along the way.

"That was the Knight Bus..." Ron explained the magical mode of transportation they had just taken, mentioning that you just had to stick out your wand anywhere in Britain (as long as it was on land) and it would appear out of nowhere, with a deafening bang. Harry thought this was a useful piece of information, considering his relationship with the Dursleys he thought there might be a time when he would need to use it. "I've always wanted to ride it but.. ugh.. never again."

Harry agreed with this, but at the same time he would have endured that hellish journey for hours if it meant leaving Privet Drive and considering the distance they had just travelled, it had been a surprisingly short trip. They took a right turn away from the main road and followed a smaller path, until they reached a house that was so unlike any house that Harry had ever seen. The closest he could think of was Hagrid and Remus' little cabin on Hogwarts grounds, but this was far more chaotic, giving the impression that extra rooms were added wherever it was needed rather than built from the ground up.

"How is it..." Harry was about to ask how the building remained standing, but then realised that it must be held up by magic. He noticed a sign near the front door, reading 'The Burrow'.

"In you go Harry, why don't you both take your things up to Ron's room, then come straight back down for lunch." she shook her head looking at Harry. "You look like you could use a good meal."

They climbed the stairs to the top floor, where Harry heard a strange noise coming down from the ceiling, and reached a door with the words 'RONALD'S ROOM' written on a plaque. Inside was a room coloured completely in orange, posters covered the walls and ceilings all with the same seven witches and wizards wearing robes of that alarming shade.

"It's the Quidditch team I support, you know? The Chudley Cannons." Ron was looking nervously at Harry. "It's a bit small but... I hope you don't mind... it won't be for too long..."

"Ron." Harry said firmly stopping his best friend from babbling and gave him a wide smile. "It's brilliant, it's the best house I've ever been in."

* * *

His next few days with the Weasley family were among the best he ever had. Here Harry had no reason to hide who he was, or pretend he was a reformed criminal, because the whole red-headed family considered him one of their own. Fred and George he already knew quite well from their Quidditch practices and Percy he treated politely and received the same in turn.

His first encounter with Ginny had been quite awkward as she walked in with her twin brothers from the garden, dusty and muddy from the de-gnoming that their mother had ordered them to do before leaving to fetch Harry. Apparently her brothers thought it might be funny not to tell her that Harry Potter was about to arrive at the Burrow, so when she first noticed the black haired boy sitting on the table she gave a little scream and ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs, leaving George and Fred howling with laughter. She later got her revenge when she cast a spell on them, which caused large black bats to crawl out of their noses, and fly around their heads screeching loudly until they successfully managed the counterspell, which they did with great difficulty. Despite this Harry found that he got on quite well with her, she joined Harry, Ron, Fred and George playing a simplified game of Quidditch and like her brothers she seemed like quite a good flier.

It was only after several days had passed and reached the weekend that he finally met Mr. Arthur Weasley, who came down from the stairs on a late Saturday morning, looking as if he hadn't had much sleep.

"Ah, Harry! So good to finally see you!" the tiredness seemed to vanish from his eyes the moment he saw the non-Weasley boy. According to a clock that the Weasley's owned, which didn't tell you the time but rather showed you where each member of the family as at that moment, Mr. Weasley seemed to be constantly at work. According to Ron his father had been working for months trying to get a law passed, the Muggle Protection Act, which would ban harmful magical artefacts that could potentially be used against non-magic people. On the day he had been supposed to go to Privet Drive to bring Harry to the Burrow, something had happened that could potentially destroy all his hard work and he had spent the last few days and nights trying to fix it.

Harry had been told that Arthur Weasley had more than a keen interest in Muggle life, but Harry had underestimated his enthusiasm. Harry sat down on the dining room table and had to endure relentless questioning about a variety of subjects, half of which he really had no clue about (how on earth would he know how a telephone actually worked?). He was thankfully spared from this after just ten minutes as an owl entered the house and landed in front of him and Ron. It was a letter from Hermione asking them if Harry was enjoying spending time with the Weasleys and making sure that they had finished the homework they had been set over the summer holidays. They had spent the time relaxing during their break and neither Harry nor Ron had even touched a single book since arriving at the Burrow, but was now glad for the excuse to leave Mr. Weasley with his breakfast.

The two weeks seemed to pass faster than a single day alone in Privet Drive and it was finally time to go back to Hogwarts. Apart from a little incident when Harry had used Floo powder for the first time to get to Diagon Alley, but turned up in a dank and dreary shop in a place called Knockturn Alley, the days passed fairly peacefully. On the last day before they would go to King's Cross, Mrs. Weasley pulled out all the stops and created a magical feast that even the Dursleys would have been tempted by. Harry had been worried that she was going to all that trouble for his benefit, but then he saw the way she was fussing over her daughter, the youngest child that would also be leaving for Hogwarts and realised that this would be the last time she would see any of her children for a few months and that it was her way of sending them off.

Although she had done most of the work herself, she enlisted the help of her children and Harry for the last minute preparations, done in the typical chaotic Weasley fashion.

"Don't run with those you two! Ginny, be careful carrying that, try not to spill any dear." she said to the twins and then at Ginny, finally turning to Ron and Harry. "Right, you two why don't you-"

Suddenly there was a loud ringing noise that filled the house, "Oh, that'll be... Ron go get the door, but hurry back!"

She turned back to the stove, stirring something in a pot while chopping a huge loaf of bread with a flick of her wand. She seemed to have forgotten about Harry, so he followed Ron who was making his way to the door. Harry thought that the doorbell was rather loud and alarming but it probably would have been necessary, he had not yet experienced a day he could describe as quiet, especially with the twins in the house.

Ron opened the door where two wizards were standing waiting. One of them Harry could easily recognise as another Weasley, with his flaming red hair and a slightly largish nose and a mouth that broke into a wide smile as soon as he laid eyes on Ron. "I hope we're not too early! Couldn't wait to see my favourite nephews and niece!"

"Uncle Gideon! I didn't know you were coming!" Ron blushed slightly as his hair was tousled, but grinned all the same.

"Gideon is that you? Come in already, and Ron get back here!" Mrs. Weasley called loudly from the kitchen.

"Best not keep your mother waiting." Gideon said with a grin.

Harry and Ron quickly returned to the kitchen where they were set to more tasks. "Ron, help your sister carry those. Harry, could you be a dear and check if Arthur is still at work?"

"The clock says he is, Mrs. Weasley." Harry called out from in front of the clock. He quickly returned to the kitchen where he saw the two men chatting with a busy Molly Weasley.

"Ah, so this is Ron's new friend. The famous Harry Potter." Ron's uncle stared at Harry with a grin. "He's told me a lot about you last Christmas."

"Gideon, you're being creepy. Stop that." the other man chided him, but he also had a smile on his face. He shook his dirty blond hair out of his grey eyes and extended a hand towards Harry, and said with a hint of an accent, "Hello Harry, my name is Kasper, pleased to meet you."

Harry extended his own hand and gave it an awkward, but firm, shake. "Er.. Hi. I'm.. uh.. Harry.."

Harry blushed as Gideon snorted with laughter, but raised his right hand towards Gideon as well, thinking he should be polite. The red-haired man stared at his hand for moment, but then with another grin extended his left arm, grasping Harry by the back of his hand and shaking it. Harry was confused but then the man raised the sleeve of his robe, and Harry realised that he was missing the bottom half of his right arm.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Harry blurted out before he could stop himself.

Kasper gave an exasperated sigh and Gideon just laughed and gave Harry a good natured smile. "No worries Harry, I'm just having fun with you. If you haven't guessed already, my name is Gideon, Gideon Prewett, Molly's brother."

"Uncle Gideon!" Ginny Weasley squealed in delight and she threw herself at her uncle, who caught her deftly with one arm and spun her around once before putting her down.

He put his arms behind his back and stretched dramatically, "You're getting too big Ginny, and off to Hogwarts as well. I'll miss my favourite niece!"

"I'm your only niece." Ginny giggled.

"Still my favourite." Gideon said simply.

Ten minutes later Mr. Weasley finally arrived back from work. He looked extremely tired, with bags under his eyes, but he brightened up at the sight of the feast and the gathered family. They all tucked in with great enthusiasm, all greatly praising the culinary talents of Molly Weasley. Harry enjoyed it immensely as she had cooked several of his favourite dishes, including a treacle tart for dessert. Harry didn't talk much, he listened to the red-haired family catch up on things that had happened. The topic was mostly kept light, news of Bill and Charlie, Gideon and Kasper's work (they were healers of some kind), Quidditch and Hogwarts, the last two of which Harry could actually contribute something to. Gideon had briefly asked how Arthur's work was coming along and Mr. Weasley gave him a weak smile saying it's fine but quickly found something else to talk about.

Despite being the first time meeting them, Kasper and Gideon were surprisingly easy to talk to, Gideon especially, who Harry almost thought of as a third Weasley twin. There was however something he was curious about, that no one seemed to really mention, so he plucked up the courage and asked the question himself.

"So do you two work together?" Harry asked the two wizards he had met today.

There was a moment of awkward silence where everyone around the table seemed to glance at each other, waiting for someone to say something. In the end Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth. "Gideon and Kaspar are.. hrm.. life partners."

Everyone was looking at Harry now, trying to gauge his reaction, and Harry blushed under the scrutiny. "Oh... I was just curious."

"You don't.. have a problem with it.. right?" Ron, who was sitting next to him, asked tentatively.

Harry hadn't ever met a same sex couple before, but he wasn't new to the idea. It had been one of the topics that his Uncle Vernon had very strong opinions on, along with foreigners, the government and Harry Potter. He honestly didn't have his own opinion on the subject, but if anything, the fact that Uncle Vernon seemed to hate people in such a relationship so much, made Harry think that it couldn't be such a bad thing. Besides, Harry could tell from the moment he met them that they were very happy with each other, so why should Harry have a problem with it?

"Er.. no. I don't have a problem with it." Harry tried to speak clearly, looking back at the two wizards in question.

There was an audible sigh of relief from Ron, as well as a few other Weasleys.

"I told you it would be alright. Any friend of Ron's would be fine with it." Gideon smiled at Harry, he then turned to Mrs. Weasley with a grin. "But honestly Molly, life partner? It sounds so... I don't know."

There was laughter from the table. "So what do you want us to say, that he's your boyfriend?" Fred said jokingly.

Kasper put on a feigned expression of pain. "We're both forty five years old, a bit too old to be calling each other that."

Dinner ended and the Weasley children went up to their rooms to finish their packing for tomorrow. Harry had been living out of his trunk and had most of his stuff already sorted but went up to help Ron.

"Harry, have you seen my Chudley Cannons book?" Ron asked, dropping his school books into his trunk.

"Weren't you reading it downstairs before dinner? I'll go look for it." Harry said.

Ron thanked him and Harry went back downstairs to look for Ron's copy of _Flying with the Cannons_. He found the book in the living room, where Ron was reading it before Mrs. Weasley called on them to help. Harry was about to go back up when he heard a loud clanging sound coming from the kitchen. When he got there he saw Mrs. Weasley and her brother, and the floor was covered with leftover food and three overturned pots. Mr. Weasley and Kasper also came running in.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Arthur Weasley asked.

"It's fine. Damn it. Bloody thing's giving me trouble again." Gideon had an irritated expression on his face. He reached into his robes and pulled out something that was hanging around his neck. Harry thought it looked like a little bottle, like the ones he sometimes used in his potions class, but made of a bronze coloured metal. Kasper was by his side with his wand out and waved it, carefully tracing the shape of the bottle.

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "I can't believe they won't give you a new one, with all the work you do for them."

"It's too bloody expensive, you know that Molly." Gideon grimaced. "I might be able to exchange it next year... or maybe the year after that... but I'm not the only one who needs them. Hi there, Harry."

The four adults turned to Harry, who held up Ron's book. "Sorry, I didn't mean to… I was just getting this and I heard a noise..."

"Sorry about that." Gideon tried to smile at Harry, but it looked forced.

He returned to Ron and told him what just happened. Ron frowned, "He's still having problems with that? Made a mess last Christmas as well."

"What is it?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, it's something that let's you use magic even when you're a squib." Ron explained, then added. "A squib is someone who can't use magic, even though they had wizarding parents."

"Oh." Harry said.

"It's slightly different in my uncle's case, he was able to use magic before but it got burnt out of him or something when he fought in the last war. That's also when he lost his arm." Ron said.

"But it doesn't work properly?" Harry asked, handing over the book.

"Thanks Harry. Well it's meant to, but the one Gideon has is quite old, I think he's had it for five or six years now and he wasn't the first person to use it either." Ron continued sorting through his things, grimacing as he considered whether he should take a pair of well-worn, grim looking trousers.

Harry sat down on his bed. He tried to remember the conversations that happened during dinner. "So your uncle works for the people who makes them?"

"Not exactly. I think he helps people who have trouble with their magic, like him, and most of the time I think it can be healed. The little bottles are for the more serious cases." he said, then he stopped what he was doing and cocked his head, as if he was remembering something. "I think they told me once, it's something that Dumbledore invented."

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"Nah, the other one. Albus Dumbledore." Ron said, before pulling out a pair of dirty old socks from his trunk and throwing it across the room.


	11. Year 2 - Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Hogwarts Exploration and Research Society**

During his last year at Hogwarts Harry, and to a lesser degree his two best friends, had caught a bug. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was magical. It might be an obvious statement, but it truly was. Moving staircases, talking portraits, silvery ghosts and everything in between, it never failed to instill a feeling of wonder in Harry, but even all that was nothing compared to one discovery he made last year. The Chamber of Secrets, a secret room that almost nobody in the school knew about, a room that was thought to have been a myth until fifty years ago, a room that proved that Hogwarts still hid many mysteries, mysteries that Harry was eager to uncover.

He watched as the new first years were being sorted and whispered to his two friends. "There must be something else that hasn't been discovered yet, Fred and George are always going on about secret passageways and stuff, but even they can't know everything about the castle."

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Sorting Hat roared.

"So what exactly do you want to do?" Ron asked, after the applause died down.

"Explore the castle, try and find all it's secrets." Harry told him.

"Are we even allowed to wander around the castle like that? We might get in trouble." Hermione said worriedly.

"We won't. I told you that's how I spent last Christmas, Filch caught me a few times, but he could never actually punish me with anything." Harry insisted.

"SLYTHERIN!" there was a loud cheer from the Slytherin table, as a girl made her way towards her new housemates.

"Hmm... I supposed it might be cool to find something that Fred and George don't know about." Ron considered.

"It would." Harry quickly agreed. He then turned to Hermione, "And Hermione, don't you want to actually explore the castle rather than just read about it all the time?"

 _Hogwarts: A History_ was one of her favourite books, there was no denying it, and the whole place did fascinate her, with so much history and magic, but she was slightly annoyed by Harry's choice of words. "There's nothing wrong with reading a book Harry."

"RAVENCLAW!" the table behind Harry erupted into applause.

"You know I didn't mean it like that. Come on, even you were amazed when you actually went into the Chamber of Secrets for the first time." Harry insisted.

Ginny name was called out by Professor McGonagall and Harry, Ron and Hermione all fell silent as the youngest Weasley nervously put the Sorting Hat over her head. She had been worrying about the sorting ever since she got onto the Hogwarts express, the other Weasleys told her she'd be fine, but they were all secretly nervous as well. Harry saw that Ron was mouthing the word 'Gryffindor' over and over again, and Harry himself was going through a similar ritual in his head.

They needn't have worried because a few seconds after the hat touched her, it opened it's mouth and shouted "GRYFFINDOR!", after which the whole table jumped up and cheered. Ginny made her way to the table with a bright smile and sat down next to Ron, where she was congratulated by her brothers and their friends. There were only two more first years waiting to be sorted.

"Okay Harry, but promise me that school work comes first. I don't want to go exploring when we have homework to do and I'm sure you'll be quite busy with Quidditch practice as well." Hermione finally agreed.

"I don't think we ever expected you to miss homework." Ron said with a grin.

The last of the students were sorted and then the Headmaster, Professor Riddle, stood up. He gave the usual warning not to enter the Forbidden Forest and that students shouldn't use spells in corridors between classes. He then clapped his hands together to commence the feast.

Ron was eagerly piling on roast beef and a Yorkshire pudding onto his plate then he turned to Harry. "Is it just going to be us three, or are you going to ask other people to join?"

Harry thought for a moment, while chewing on a chip, then said, "I guess there are a few people who might be interested.." He thought of Anthony, Justin and Neville from his class, who he got on with quite well.

"I think Ernie might think it's fun." Ron said.

"Sue might be interested as well, I think she's read _Hogwarts: A History_ almost as many times as I have." Hermione added.

Harry knew both of them quite well, despite not being in the same class. "The more the merrier, I guess. But we should try and keep the group fairly small, I don't think the professors would like it if a dozen students were... I don't know.. marauding around the school."

"Marauding! Marauders! That's an idea for a name to call ourselves!" Ron said excitedly.

"We are not calling ourselves the Marauders, Ron." Hermione scowled. "It sounds so.. grim."

"What would you name our group then?" Ron shot back.

Hermione thought for a moment. "Something like... the Research and Exploration Team of Castle Hogwarts.."

Harry mouthed the words and grinned. "That spells out retch. That doesn't sound too appealing."

Hermione blushed. "Yes, I just realised that. How about just simply, Hogwarts Exploration and Research Society."

"H.E.R.S.? It's yours then?" Ron said laughing.

"It's just an acronym, Ron, it doesn't have to mean anything." Hermione huffed.

After convincing Ron and Hermione, getting the others to join was surprisingly easy, they were all friends and didn't really need an excuse to hang around together. But to get them really enthusiastic about the whole thing, Harry decided to show them the Chamber of Secrets. On Friday afternoon, after their classes ended, he and his friends made their way to the first floor. Harry warned them not to tell anyone else about where they were going, and made sure no one was afraid of snakes, and he entered Moaning Myrtle's bathroom with Ron, Hermione, Justin, Anthony, Ernie and Sue. Harry had also asked Neville but he refused, saying he might get in trouble with his father if he found out what they were doing.

"Hello Myrtle." Harry said, dragging a hesitant Justin Finch-Fletchley in with him, who was absolutely mortified that they were about to enter a girls bathroom.

"You again," a ghost of a girl with round glasses sniffed loudly and studied the others. "and you brought others. There shouldn't be so many boys in the girls bathroom."

"Did you get into trouble last time, for showing us where the entrance was?" Hermione asked guiltily.

Myrtle looked at her then floated right up against Harry, her nose touching the tip of his, which made it uncomfortably cold. "You tricked me into telling you."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, it honestly had been Myrtle's smugness that had caused her to reveal the entrance to them, but Harry thought he shouldn't provoke Myrtle and so he just said, "I'm sorry."

She floated away and sniffed again. "I didn't get into any trouble, the Headmaster is a very understanding person."

Her eyes seem to lose focus and she sighed deeply, "He used to be so handsome, Tom... still pretty good looking I guess... such a shame he's married."

"He's married? I didn't know that." Ron said.

"Well you wouldn't, would you?" Myrtle glared at Ron, for stopping her little daydream. "And if you think I'm going to tell you who he's married to, think again."

She spun around, turning her back to them and flew into a toilet in a cubicle, splashing water all over the floor. Ernie, Anthony and Justin just stared at this in shock, most other ghostly residents of Hogwarts were a lot nicer than her. Sue just looked at Hermione and shrugged, "She seems to be in a better mood than usual."

Harry opened the way with a hiss and they slowly made their way down the stairs, wands lighting the way. The newcomers seemed to be nervous about the sudden cold and gloomy surroundings so Harry tried to talk to them cheerfully, explaining to Justin what a Parselmouth was.

When they got to the sudden drop, Harry called Legion up, after warning them what was about to happen. Although it might have been funny to not tell them anything (Ron thought it would be a brilliant prank), Harry wanted to make a good first impression, rather than chasing them away from the idea of exploring.

Even so, they gave a frightened gasp and were only persuaded to walk onto the snakes after asking Harry several times, whether he was _sure_ the snakes wouldn't bite. They left the mound of snakes hissing contently and walked along the corridor and entered the Chamber of Secrets. Their reaction was as he expected, wonder and excitement at seeing a room considered a myth. He was disappointed to find that Cencri, a snake made entirely out of diamond and a true wonder to behold, was not there, but even without her, Harry's friends had been gripped by the idea of uncovering more secrets of Hogwarts.

So the Hogwarts Exploration and Research Society was born, although Ron still insisted on calling himself a Marauder. Harry honestly didn't care what they called themselves and wanted to actually go about researching and exploring, but this was easier said than done. Having seven people, from three different houses and two different classes, all with their own extra-curricular activities made it difficult to actually arrange a time when they could meet and discuss what they were going to do.

Hermione's prediction about Quidditch had been correct, as on the second weekend after term had started the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Oliver Wood, woke him up at the crack of dawn, telling him to get up and down to the pitch for practice. He had tried to reserve the Quidditch pitch for practice last week, but Syltherin managed to get permission first, and since the first match of the season was between Slytherin and Ravenclaw, Oliver had to relent.

Quidditch was taking up a lot of Harry's free time, as Oliver was insisting on practising as often as he could reserve the pitch, but Harry didn't mind. After last year, when he was unable to play a single match, he was determined to play without making a fool of himself and lots of practice was the only way to manage that.

The group came to the conclusion that they should each try and find something worth investigating. The Ravenclaws, and Hermione, all went to the library looking for any mention of Hogwarts or the four Founders, the Hufflepuffs relied on their legs, wandering about as Harry had done last Christmas, hoping to find something by blind luck. Ron spent his time trying to discreetly ask Fred and George if they knew rumours worth investingating, without much result. He even tried to follow them once, in case they were going somewhere interesting, but decided not to do that again when they caught him and left him stumbling in the middle of the corridors, when they used a Jelly-Legs Jinx on him.

Harry tried asking various portraits, especially the older ones, if they knew any secrets in the castle, but Harry soon found out that even a painting of a wise old wizard or witch didn't necessarily mean that the portrait retained much of the subject's wisdom and they only knew about the parts of the castle they could see from inside their frames, or the frames of neighbouring portraits that they would sometimes visit.

After a month of this and nothing to show for it, they were getting disheartened, spending less and less time on H.E.R.S. activities. Ron had practically given up and even Harry, who was the one that started the whole things, was starting to think the whole thing was a waste of time.

Harry was with Ron sitting in the Gryffindor common room, catching up on his homework. Hermione wasn't with them, she had rushed off to the library an hour ago and wasn't back yet and Harry really needed to borrow her notes from the History of Magic class. He was skimming through his text book, trying to find the relevant pages and Ron had already given up, doodling in the margins of his parchment.

Hermione suddenly came bursting in looking immensely pleased with herself. She sat down next to her friends, and Ron said to her, "What took you so long?"

"I was in the library-" she began.

"We know." Ron rolled his eyes.

"-doing this." she pulled out several large sheets of parchment, covered in long straight lines and parts of it with little notes, in her neat handwriting.

"A map?" Harry asked.

"Yes! Of Hogwarts! Oh, I should have thought about it earlier, this will make it so much easier to know where we've already been, and where there's likely to be something worth investigating." Hermione said excitedly. "I went to the library to see if there were any existing maps that we could use, but Madam Pince says there aren't any complete ones. So I decided to draw my own."

Harry looked at the map as Hermione arranged them so they all seemed to connect and although it was far from complete, Harry was already starting to feel excited again.

* * *

Harry sighed in relief as he the class ended, as much as he was fascinated by Transfiguration, it was one of the most difficult subjects and he was falling behind on the required reading and had spent the lesson having trouble successfully transfiguring a beetle into a button.

"Hi, Harry!" a cheery voice rang out as he left the room and Harry involuntarily flinched. Colin Creevey, a first year, was red cheeked and out of breath.

"Hello Colin." Harry sighed. The first time they met, he had made the mistake of showing an interest towards the camera that the boy had been carrying. Harry had taken up photography as a slight hobby, ever since receiving a camera as a Christmas present, and he was more than happy to share what little he knew with the eager Muggle-born. The next time they met, Colin had found out about Harry's past with Grindelwald and seemed to have developed a sort of extreme admiration for him.

Harry managed to avoid him most of the time, but Colin happened to have a Transfiguration lesson just after Harry's class, and he seemed determined to run all the way from his previous lesson, just to say 'hi' to Harry, every single week without fail.

Harry walked pass him, saying he needed to get to his next class. On his way there he saw a red haired girl walking towards him and he smiled. "Hi Ginny."

"Hi Harry. How's Colin doing?" she asked with a grin. Harry just sighed in response. "You know he managed to get a hold of your timetable last week and I barely managed to convince him that stalking you all day might be a little creepy."

"Thank you Ginny. Really." they chatted for a while then Harry said goodbye and started walking quickly, all his classmates had already left him behind and were on their way to the school grounds. He managed to arrive with a few minutes to spare and he found the rest of his class standing outside Greenhouse Three, waiting for Professor Sprout to turn up. Anthony was standing apart from the rest talking to two boys that Harry didn't recognise. When they noticed him, Anthony gave him a guilty look and the three of them walked over to Harry.

"Finally Potter, you're here." one of the boys said.

"Who are you?" Harry asked with a frown.

"I'm Michael Corner," he said he pointed at the other boy Harry didn't know, "this is Terry Boot. We want in."

"You want what?" Harry asked, confused.

"Anthony told us what you were up to and we want to join as well." Terry said.

"Oh." Harry looked at Anthony who was avoiding his eye.

"We have lessons to get to, so we'll talk afterwards. Okay Potter?" the two boys left leaving an awkward silence between Harry and Anthony.

Anthony opened his mouth but Professor Sprout arrived to rush them inside. They didn't get much of a chance to talk since they were replanting Mandrakes, and had to be wearing earmuffs most of the time. It was only after the lesson finished and they were on their way to the Great Hall for lunch, that Anthony was able to give his excuse.

"I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to tell them, but they kept asking me what I was doing all the time. They're my friends and it's hard to keep something from them when I spend most of my time with them outside classes." he said in a rush, then he added. "It's like with you, Ron and Hermione."

"Did you tell them about the Chamber?" Harry asked.

"No! That's the one thing I didn't do," Anthony said firmly, before adding hopefully "...but maybe you could show them, once you get to know them a bit better?"

Harry sighed, "Okay, I'll think about it."

Harry sat down on the Gryffindor table, grabbing a simple sandwich for himself. He had already decided that he wasn't as annoyed as Anthony thought he might be, he was honestly just glad Anthony and the others still wanted to carry on with their group. Hermione's map had helped with that, they had now been able to map out various rooms and shortcuts around the castle, which they found to be actually very useful. Besides he had more important things to worry about.

He watched as Draco Malfoy walked into the Hall, giving him a brief smirk when their eyes met. When Harry found out Malfoy was the new Seeker for the Slytherin team, Harry wasn't that surprised since he had tried to get permission to get his own broom and join the team last year. What was unexpected though, and very irritating, was the fact that Malfoy's father had decided to donate seven brooms, seven Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones, for the entire Slytherin team.

Oliver had gathered the team after he found out to tell them that better brooms didn't necessarily make better players, but last week Slytherin managed to completely destroy last year's champion team in a brutal match. Hermione was quick to tell Harry that it was because a lot of the best players on the Ravenclaw team had graduated last year and it did make Harry feel slightly better, but he was still secretly glad that they wouldn't be facing Slytherin until May, giving him time to get used to an actual Quidditch match in front of a crowd.

His first match was next week and although he had been mentally preparing himself for his debut for about a year now, he still felt butterflies in his stomach thinking about it. After his afternoon lesson, he quietly slipped away from the rest of his class, deciding he would visit Hagrid and Remus. He would normally visit them on the weekend, along with his friends, but right now he didn't want them to see how nervous he was.

He carefully knocked on the door and opened it when he heard a voice telling him to come in. Remus was sitting there reading the Daily Prophet, he looked up and glanced behind Harry, "You've come alone?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to ask you something." Harry said tentatively.

"Well come on in, I'll make a cup of tea." Remus said as he stood up, "Hagrid's gone into the forest with Fang, not sure when they'll be back."

Harry sat down, "That's okay, I was hoping to talk to you."

Within minutes Remus was back with a steaming pot of tea and two mugs, he poured the tea and gave Harry a small smile, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"I... You told me a lot about my dad and how good a Quidditch player he was..." he said quietly. "and that he was always confident at everything he did... Was he.. was he nervous before his first ever match?"

An expression of understanding crept onto Remus' face and he nodded, "Of course he was, although he didn't show it to anyone. The day before his first match, he spent the whole time boasting about how good he was at flying and saying he'd score more goals than anyone on the team."

Harry scowled, "That doesn't really sound like he was worried."

"Ah, but later that evening, when it was just me and Sirius with him, the first words out of his mouth was 'I think I'm going to vomit'." Remus chuckled. "We spent hours trying to calm him down, way past curfew. If he didn't have his Invisibility Cloak, he probably would have been thrown into detention and missed the game altogether."

"Invisibility Cloak?" Harry asked, something nagging at his mind.

Remus looked surprised, "Did I never mention it? He used to have a cloak that you could wear to turn invisible. Saved us from getting into trouble with the professors more than once, I supposed it disappeared when... Anyway, what I was trying to say was that it's fine to be nervous before your first match. James didn't score the most and he almost suffered a nasty injury from a Bludger, but he did fine and so will you. I've seen you flying during practice, and you're already much better than he was at your age."

He repeated Remus' words over in his mind, and it was starting to calm him down. "Thanks Remus."

The werewolf smiled at him, an expression only a few students ever got to see, and said, "Anytime, Harry."

* * *

The match against Hufflepuff ended in a convincing victory for the Gryffindors. The moment he pushed himself off the ground, he wondered why he had been so worried about the whole thing, when this was where he felt the most comfortable. He didn't see the crowd, he just saw a blur of reds and yellows, he didn't hear the cheers, there was just the roaring of the wind as he flew through the air. There was a light cooling drizzle, that somehow made him more relaxed, despite the little droplets of water obscuring his vision from time to time.

Catching the Golden Snitch had been one of the most wonderful feelings in his life, as he felt the crowd erupt into a cheer. His team flew over to hug and congratulate him and he scanned the crowds to look for his friends. He found Ron and Hermione almost instantly, thanks to Hagrid sitting next to them, and saw that they were jumping up and down, waving a Gryffindor banner and shouting something he couldn't hear. It was one of the best days of his life.

Reality came crashing when Hermione asked the next day whether he had finished his Potions homework that was due in tomorrow. He was annoyed at her, but thankful at the same time, the fact that she bothered to memorise his timetable on top of her own was proof that she cared about him. She had saved him from forgetting his homework on more than one occasion, and Snape certainly wouldn't hesitate on handing out a detention. While the other members of the Gryffindor team were still celebrating, Harry was quickly scribbling down the ingredients and methods of brewing a hair-raising potion when Ron walked into the common room with a scowl on his face and sat down next to Harry. Hermione put down her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ , which was only a year old but already the spine looked quite worn, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Detention. With Filch." Ron muttered.

"What happened?" Harry put his quill down and asked.

Ron sighed. "He caught me coming out of a corridor and just threw me in detention."

"Why? Where was it?" Hermione frowned and pulled out the map from her bag.

"It was here." Ron pointed at a spot on the map. "There's a passageway behind a statue of a fat, bald bloke. I walked for about five minutes before turning back, I'm not sure where it leads, but it must be quite far."

"Hmm..." Hermione drew two straight lines, indicating a passageway away from the corridor and finished it with a question mark.

Fred and George, who were listening nearby, stood up and walked over to their brother.

"Ron." Fred clapped his hands in front of his mouth, as if overcome with emotion, but the edges of his mouth were twisting up in a smile.

"Oh, brother of ours." George was covering his eyes with his hand, but he definitely was grinning.

"What is it?" Ron looked at them warily.

"We were worried that you might turn out like Percy, but detention with Filch? We're so proud of you." Fred gave Ron a firm pat on the back.

Harry snorted with laughter and Hermione just gave them a disapproving look. George was looking over the map Hermione was drawing. "And trying to explore the castle as well, following in our footsteps."

Hermione quickly tried to cover the parchment and looked over to Harry, who just shrugged. They had already seen what they were up to, and he also thought they might be able to help with what H.E.R.S. were doing.

"So you found the secret passageway behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy?" George pointed at the spot Hermione had just marked.

"Gregory the Smarmy?" Ron asked, looking pleased with himself, the twins didn't hand out compliments easily.

"The fat, bald bloke." Fred said.

"Do you know where it leads?" Harry asked, standing up and walking over to them to look at the map.

Fred and George looked at each other and grinned. "Should we tell?"

"But they might get into more detentions?"

"Oh come on! We'll find out anyway." Ron said impatiently.

"Oh Ronald, so eager to get into trouble!" George sniggered.

"If you're sure you want to know," Fred paused dramatically, "the passageway leads all the way out of the castle and into Hogsmeade."

"To the village?" Hermione asked with a frown. "Are you sure?"

"Well we walked all the way to the end and ended up just behind Hogsmeade station." Fred smirked. "So yeah, we're sure."

"Hmm... so I suppose Filch knows where it leads?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, bad luck Ron." George said, "And since we're so nice, we'll tell you that he knows about these as well.."

He took Hermione's quill and drew on three more secret paths, he tapped each one with the quill, "Now these two Filch definitely knows about, as two weeks worth of detention in our second year will prove, but this one.. We're sure he has no idea it exists."

George was tapping a passageway he marked on the fourth floor, he had scribbled the words 'behind the mirror', above it.

"Those all go to Hogsmeade as well?" Harry asked.

"Yep, so be careful if you're planning on using it. We don't want Filch or Mrs. Norris sniffing out that last one as well." Fred warned them.

"We're not planning on going to Hogsmeade." Hermione said quickly, affronted by the idea.

"We're not?" Ron asked, looking disappointed.

"Of course not! Don't you think the villagers would notice if a bunch of second year students started wandering around?" Hermione said. "Besides, that's not what we're looking for."

Fred and George looked at them curiously. "What are you looking for then?"

"Stuff that's in the castle, secret rooms and things like that." Harry said with a shrug. Harry considered telling them about the Chamber, but he somehow thought considering the Weasley twins' reputation, the Headmaster wouldn't appreciate them finding out about it.

* * *

Harry was following Hermione up the stairs, while trying to warm his hands with his breath. It was already December and although the castle was charmed to withstand the worst of the chill from the winter elements, it was still cold, especially in the parts of the castle that didn't get a lot of traffic.

"This is the place..." Hermione was looking at her map then back at the wall, she pointed at a spot which looked like solid stone, but it was framed by a rectangle of wood about the size of a door frame.

Harry walked up and tried knocking on it, pushing it and even asking nicely if it would open for them. "Hermione, I think this is just another wall pretending to be a door."

"Look, this place is just a long straight corridor so I was able to measure the rooms on either side." she held the map up so Harry, Ron and Sue could see. "According to my measurements, there should be about a thirteen feet gap in between them, and this frame seems to be directly in the middle."

They all tried to do various things to see if they could open it, including some spells. They cast _Alohomora_ to no effect and _Incendio_ didn't even leave any scorch marks, Hermione looked around and very quietly said " _Defodio_." and when it didn't seem to do anything to the wall, she seemed annoyed and relieved at the same time.

Sue was checking out the room on the left side of the empty space, it seemed to be an office that seemed to be empty at the moment. "Hermione, come here for a moment."

Hermione and the others entered the room and saw Sue leaning out of an open window. Hermione squeaked and ran over to her friend, grabbing the end of her robes.

"I'm fine!" Sue said as she pulled herself back inside. "Hermione, I think you might be right, there's a window just about where the frame is."

"Really?" Hermione said excitedly and leaned out the window herself, she was beaming when she was back on the ground and facing them again. "Harry can you stand here? Just stick your arm out or something?"

"Er.. Okay." Harry said, Hermione and Sue were already on their way out of the disused office, leaving the boys behind.

"Can you see anything?" Ron asked, moving closer to the window.

Harry leaned out, just as Hermione and Sue had done, and turned his head to the right. "Yeah I think I see what they were talking about."

"Harry!" Harry looked beyond the little window and further along the castle walls, where Hermione was leaning out another window and waving at him. Harry waved back.

Both she and Harry ducked back inside and they met back in the corridor in front of the framed part of the wall, Hermione was looking ecstatic. "There's definitely something there! If only we could see through that window..."

"You can fly up there with your broom Harry!" Ron said excitedly.

"Oh that's right!" Hermione squealed, before looking slightly nervous. "But isn't it a bit high?"

Ron scoffed. "Harry flies much higher when he's playing Quidditch."

"But he has the team and Madam Hooch in case something goes wrong. If he fell from there..." Hermione paled at the thought.

"I'll be fine, Hermione. Give me a moment!" Harry ran back to the common room and up to the dormitories. He found his Nimbus Two Thousand and was about to leave but caught sight of his camera. The window had looked quite small when he was leaning out of the office, but maybe he could get a photo or two through the gap.

He left the castle and went around the back so that he was standing below the window, where he saw Ron leaning out and waving at him. He made sure the camera strap was securely around his neck and mounted his broom and pushed off, taking a moment to relish the feeling of the wind in his face. He made his way to the window his red haired friend was leaning out of and grinned, Ron had a smile on his face but both Hermione and Sue looked quite nervous.

"Oh, you brought your camera! Good idea." Hermione said. "Be careful though!"

"I will Hermione, don't worry." Harry said and he flew away from them. It was a window and there was definitely a room there behind that part of the wall.

"Can you see anything, Harry?" Ron asked.

"It's a room, but it looks empty." Harry said, sounding disappointed.

"Oh." Ron said, mirroring Harry's emotions.

It was a room about ten feet wide with the same grey stone walls that made up the rest of the castle. It was completely empty and undecorated, which Harry realised made it one of the strangest rooms he had ever seen in Hogwarts. The school could kindly be described as cluttered, with portraits, statues and little adornments decorating all the rooms and corridors. Even rooms that were not currently used, like the one Ron was leaning out of, usually had a few pieces of furniture and one or two things hanging on the walls, but there was nothing like that in this room. The only thing that stood out was a wide pillar or piece of wall, about three or four feet, in the centre of the room, made of the same materials as the rest of the room.

Harry carefully balanced himself on the Nimbus and raised his camera, taking a dozen photos of the inside of the room, trying to get it from as many angles as he could through the narrow slit of the window. He also played around with some of the switches and buttons on his magical camera, hoping some of them might reveal something he couldn't see with his naked eye. He pulled back and flew back towards the disused office, and gently floated inside.

When he was back on solid ground he noticed that all three of his friends were looking very disappointed. Sue asked just in case, "It was really just empty?"

"It was completely empty and I mean _completely_. No portraits or statues, no empty bookcases or spare chairs, there was absolutely nothing." Harry said, he told them about everything he could see from the outside. He still had a glimmer of hope that there was something in that room.

Hermione frowned, then her eyes widened into a look of confusion, an expression you didn't normally see on the young witch. She murmured almost to herself, "Why would they hide the entrance to a room like that?"

"No idea, but I've got pictures. Maybe they'll show something I couldn't see." Harry said, shouldering his broom. "I'm going to go develop them now."

* * *

Harry walked slowly towards the hidden room, there didn't really seem to be a point in hurrying. It had already been a week and all nine of them had tried doing a variety of things to find a way inside, but couldn't open the door. The photos proved useless, showing nothing that Harry couldn't see from outside. He thought there might have been something that looked like the Gryffindor lion on the central wall, but it seemed so faint, that he eventually decided it was just a trick of the light. Ron and Hermione had made their way there once more hoping to find something.

Sue and Ernie were there as well, and Hermione was kneeling on the floor, with about a dozen thick books opened around her. Her finger was tracing a line from one of them, and her other hand was holding her wand and pointing it at the frame, she was also muttering a long spell under her breath. Harry stood silently not wanting to disrupt her concentration, and just nodded to the others. There was a brief glow of light from the tip of her wand and she gave the wall a careful push, but it was still solid. She stood up with a noise of frustration and kicked the wall, surprising all of them.

"Hermione! Stop that, you'll hurt yourself." Sue gently grabbed Hermione's arm and tried to pull her back.

"Argh! It's so frustrating! We've tried everything short of asking the professors." Hermione huffed, they had discussed the possibility but only wanted to do it as a last resort. They were quite proud of their little find, and even Hermione, who normally didn't hesitate in asking a teacher for help, didn't want to share it with anyone else until they had a chance to explore it themselves.

"Maybe we should try after Christmas?" Ron said, more to placate Hermione rather than offering a serious suggestion.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" a sneering voice came from behind Harry.

They all turned around to find Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle standing there scowling at them.

"None of your business, Malfoy." Harry said, his hand reaching for the pocket with his wand.

The blond haired boy's eyes narrowed, "Oh, then maybe one of the professors would like to hear about what you've been up to?"

"We're not doing anything wrong, I've checked all the rules." Hermione said firmly.

"Well you would know wouldn't you, being a little teacher's pet, know-it-all." Malfoy sneered at her, his two cronies sniggering behind him, "I can't believe a little Mudblood-"

There was a collective gasp from Harry's friends, although Harry had no idea why Malfoy's words brought such a reaction. The three Slytherins were suddenly reaching into their pockets with their eyes wide, and pointed their wands towards Ron and Ernie, who had stepped up besides Harry both with their wands raised.

"How dare you Malfoy!" Ron snarled, red sparks shooting off his wand.

Malfoy and the other two were looking nervous, they were outnumbered, but he tried to put on a brave face. "Give it your best shot, Weasley."

" _FLIPENDO_!" Ron roared, aiming his wand at Malfoy, who dodged behind Crabbe who doubled up in pain. There were shouts of spells filling the air, Harry himself had tried to cast a Disarming Charm but was hit in the face with a jinx, causing pimples to erupt all over his face.

" _Rictusempra!_ " Malfoy retaliated.

Ernie was laughing hysterically, having been hit by Malfoy's tickling charm and Hermione and Sue were just yelling "STOP!", trying not to add any more spells in the confusion. Goyle cried out in frustration then just charged forwards, forgetting his wand and slammed into Ron, who tried to keep his balance, but tripped over the books littering the floor.

Hermione screamed as Ron fell backwards, Harry's hand shot forwards but missed Ron's robes by an inch and he stared in horror as he saw his friend hit the wall with his head... and disappear through it.

* * *

 **A/N**

Sorry I just updated it hours after I first uploaded this chapter. I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter and just decided to use it when I got to a decent word count, but I wasn't really happy with how it finished, so I added a bit at the end. My only excuse is that I'm going to see Fantastic Beasts in a few hours and I couldn't concentrate on writing, sorry I'll try not to let that happen again =p.

Sorry for the late update as well. Just as a side note, Year 2 (and possibly Year 3) are going to be quite short, and possibly not as dramatic as the end of year 1, but important story stuff will be happening.

Thank you for the kind reviews, as always =).


	12. Year 2 - Chapter 3

**A/N**

I wasn't happy with how I ended the last chapter so I added a bit to make it better, so if you read my notes at the end, carry on reading here.

 **Chapter 3**

 **Graecum est, non Legitur**

Everyone stood in shock as they watched Ron, and Goyle, although Harry didn't really care about him, fall through the walls that had definitely been solid just a moment ago. They broke from their daze and Harry ran up and carefully placed his hands against the wall.

"It's just like the barrier at platform nine and three-qua-!" Hermione's exclamation was cut off, as Harry pushed himself through the wall and into the room, the room he had seen from outside the window. Ron and Goyle were standing up, the fact that they had been fighting a moment ago all but forgotten, and glancing about warily.

"Are you okay, Ron?" Harry hurried to his friend.

Ron was rubbing the back of his red-head and grimacing slightly, "Just got a small bump, when this idiot (Goyle growled) ran into me."

The others were making their way inside as well, including Malfoy and Crabbe with curiosity overcoming animosity, and they stood there staring at the wide pillar ahead. On the stone surface was a full length mirror, much taller than anyone currently standing there. Harry and the others suddenly came to a startling realisation and quickly turned around to look at the wall behind them. There was a rectangular frame of wood, just like on the other side of the wall, that marked the entrance to the room and it was exactly what the reflection on the mirror was showing. What the mirror wasn't showing, however, were any of the eight Hogwarts students that had just entered through the hidden doorway.

Ron walked over closer to the mirror and waved his hand in front of it, but nothing happened. He voiced the question on everyone's mind, "Is this a mirror or not?"

No one answered him. Harry took a closer look at the mirror itself. It was framed on three sides with a thin and simple dark wood, but on the top were four animals, ornately carved as part of the frame. A badger, an eagle, a lion and a serpent, the four animals that represented the four houses of Hogwarts. They were all facing towards a large key placed squarely in the centre at the top of the frame, it seemed to be made of a greyish silver metal. Just under the key something was written in a language Harry didn't recognise.

"Apu ovia?" Ron slowly mouthed the word, looking back towards Harry who just shrugged, he didn't have any more of a clue than Ron did about the word.

"I don't think that's right," Hermione said, looking very excited, "I don't think it's written in English... It might be.. hold on a moment, I think one of the books had something like that."

She turned around and carefully made sure that the portal through the wall was still open, and quickly dashed back outside. Sue and Harry looked around the room, but found that the mirror was the only thing of interest. There was the sound of a scuffle and Harry turned back towards the center of the room, where Goyle had pushed Ron away from the mirror and Malfoy was standing in front of it staring intently.

"This looks very old, very valuable." Malfoy muttered, completely ignoring Ron's angry glare. He moved closer to it raising his hands to touch the glass surface, when he suddenly jumped back with a yelp, raising his wand and pointing it all around the room.

The blond haired boy was looking over his shoulders at the mirror, and eventually held his wand pointed in the direction of Ron, who raised his own wand with a snarl, "What do you think you're doing Malfoy! Point that wand somewhere else or I'll stick it up your-"

"Shut up Weasley. There's something in this room..." Malfoy's voice was shaking slightly and there was no bite in his words towards Ron, which made him more uneasy than having a wand pointed at him.

"What are you talking about?" Ernie slowly raised his wand as well, and like everyone else was glancing around the room, looking for a hidden intruder.

"There was.. a shadow.. or something.. on the reflection.. THERE!" Malfoy jumped around and yelled a jinx above the frame of the entrance. The red sparks just hit the stone wall and disappeared harmlessly. Ignoring the startled shouts from the others in the room, he turned back to face the mirror, wand gripped tightly in his hand. Harry moved in closer, passing a panicking Goyle who didn't immediately step in to protect his Slytherin friend, and stared into the mirror standing besides Malfoy. He then saw it too.

It was a dark grey mist, that gathered together to form a shape that might have been vaguely human, then dissipated back to wispy strands. From the reflection, Harry could see that it was floating in the corner of the room, slowly moving down, Harry briefly glanced back and saw that if the mirror was able show the students as well, the mist would be occupying the same space as Sue.

With a snarl, Malfoy once again turned around and pointed his wand with a curse on the tip of his tongue. Harry instantly reacted, grabbing his arm and pointing it towards the ceiling and away from Sue, "Stop it Malfoy! It's not in this room!"

Malfoy pulled his arm away from Harry's grip with an annoyed grunt and glanced again at the mirror, but the shadow had moved and disappeared from view again. Harry kept his eyes on the reflection, as well as Malfoy, and asked, "Sue, just a moment ago did you feel anything?"

"What do you mean?" Sue looked confused and scared.

"Just now, did it feel like.. I don't know.. touching a ghost or something? Or anything else, did you feel any different?" Harry asked again.

"No.. I don't think so?" she squeaked.

"Draco... we should leave..." Crabbe, whom Harry had never heard speak before, whispered softly. Malfoy looked at Crabbe, and then at Goyle who was still warily looking at the corners of the room. The blond haired boy nodded and slowly edged backwards, facing the mirror at all times. He suddenly stumbled, grabbing Crabbe for support and raised a shaking wand towards the mirror.

Everyone in the room could see it this time, the shadow had returned, floating directly in front of the reflective surface, and Harry was sure that it could see them just as well. The others were following Malfoy's example and backing away, slowly and trying not to make any sudden movements. The mist seemed to quiver and shift slightly, taking in the sight of each of them in turn, Harry thought he could feel it's eyes on him and shivered.

It shifted again slightly then it stilled completely, as if holding it's breath. Something was about to happen and Harry didn't want to be in the room when it did. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea and started moving slightly quicker, but Malfoy seemed to have frozen on the spot.

"Hey Draco. Come on!" Crabbe gripped the back of Malfoy's robes and gave it a gentle tug, trying to get him moving again, but the blond boy just stood there, shivering.

The shadow suddenly twisted into a semi-human face, mouth gaped open in a silent scream and crashed into the mirror, which rattled slightly. Everyone jumped back, including Malfoy who crashed into Crabbe behind him, but as he was falling, he raised his wand and gave a frightened shout, " _Serpenmorsa!_ "

With the sound of a whip, a long thin shape shot out of Malfoy's wand. With a hiss, the end reared up and the upper half of a snake, still connected to the wand, bared it's fangs and launched itself at the shape in the mirror. The teeth hit the glass with a sharp crack and was dragged down by it's own weight making a horrible scraping noise, before disappearing with a puff of smoke.

When the smoke cleared Harry saw that the dark shape in the mirror had vanished once more, but he could also see a small chip where the fangs had hit. The glass shuddered and a splinter of glass fell to the floor. Slowly, from that spot, the glass started to crack until it resembled a spiderweb covering the whole surface. It continued until it reached the edges of the frame, and the metallic key snapped in two and fell to the floor. Then the cracks on the mirror started to smoke.

The Slytherins turned tail and ran, pushing everyone out of the way and Harry onto the floor. Ron was trying to help Harry up, at the same time watching in horror as whatever was trapped in the mirror was slowly trickling out of the fractures of the glass, the room seemed to darken and they felt a deathly chill in the air. The vibrations intensified until the wooden animals adorning the top of the frame fell to the floor one by one, breaking apart as they hit the hard stone.

With that everything suddenly seemed back to normal. They could once again feel the afternoon sun and the mirror remained inanimately hanging on the wall, as if nothing had happened.

Ron finally pulled Harry up and said, "Let's get out of here." Harry and the others nodded and were about to turn around when they saw a dim glow coming from the four fallen animals and then once again a mist started to emerge from the broken pieces.

But this time, it didn't feel dark and cold and evil. They stood, staring at it, sensing no danger, as the silvery white mist gathered into a shape of a person, making it almost look like a ghost. Like it's shadowy counterpart had done, it viewed each of them in turn with an expression of appraisal, before finally settling on Sue. It raised it's arm and started floating towards her slowly at first but gathering speed, mouthing unheard words. The Ravenclaw girl flinched back in a panic, and Ernie, who was standing besides her, pulled her towards the entrance trying to get her out. Harry and Ron were sending jinxes towards the ghostly figure trying to slow it down, but the spells were all just passing right through it. Before Sue managed to reach the portal, someone stepped through from the other side.

Hermione had her head in a book and briefly glanced at Harry and started walking towards him, "Finally! I knew it was in one of the-" she did a double take and her head shot up as she stared at the ghost in the room. The ghost seemed to freeze as well and paused to give Hermione a brief look of consideration. It then turned away from Sue and started to glide towards the confused Gryffindor girl.

"Wh..what is that thing?" Hermione squeaked, as she dropped her book and clutched Harry's robes.

"I don't know.,. It's like a.. a.. ghost?" Harry stammered, he then suddenly remembered something he learnt last year during his Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Ghosts can be repelled by magical light. "Get Hermione and Sue out of here! It seems to be after them!"

Ron hesitated for a moment then grabbed Hermione's hand and started pulling her towards the exit, Ernie was doing the same for Sue. Harry took a step towards the spirit, raised his wand and shouted, " _Lumos!_ " Bright light appeared from the tip of his wand and as he directed it towards the approaching ghost it seemed to stop for a second, more out of curiosity than because of the spell itself, but then it started moving again, faster than ever. It passed right by Harry, without giving him a second glance, and launched itself at Hermione.

Ron swore loudly and raised his wand towards it, pulling Hermione behind him, but before he could cast any spells it flew right through him and crashed into a shrieking Hermione. There was a blinding flash of light and when Harry could see again he saw that his two friends were glowing slightly, Hermione more brightly than Ron, then the room stilled once more, with nothing in the room apart from the five students.

Harry ran over to his friends and asked in a shaky voice. "Are you okay?"

"I.. I think so..?" Hermione whispered. Ron was feeling the front of his robes, where the ghost had passed through him, trying to find any signs of injury and just gave a weak nod to Harry.

Sue came over with tears in her eyes, frantically whispering to Hermione to make sure she was okay, while Ernie was standing besides her keeping an eye on the mirror, just to make sure nothing else came out. He managed to say, "Let's go."

Harry was the last to leave, after picking up the book Hermione had dropped. When he was back in the corridor Ron and Ernie were leaning against the wall taking deep breaths and Hermione was saying soothing words to Sue, who had broken down and was crying. Harry felt really bad, it had been his idea to explore the castle after all. It took a few minutes for Sue to calm down, and Harry and Ron spent the time sheepishly picking up the books in front of the door, unsure of how to handle a situation like this.

"I'm sorry, I'm being really silly. I wasn't even the one that was..." Sue broke off, sniffing loudly then turned to her friend with a smile. "Hermione, everyone thinks you should have been in Ravenclaw, but this really proves you were sorted into the right house."

Hermione blushed, looking rather pleased and gently said, "Do you want to go to go see Madam Pomfrey?"

"No, I'm fine. I think I just want to go back to the common room." Sue said with a sigh. "But you should get yourself checked out, and you as well Ron."

"I'll take her to Ravenclaw Tower." Ernie said, walking over to Sue. They left while talking softly, Sue letting out a quiet laugh before turning a corner.

Hermione took the books from Harry and Ron and placed them in her bag, which Harry offered to carry. She mumbled that she was fine, but handed her bulging bag over to him and they started walking towards the hospital wing. Harry and Ron explained to Hermione what had happened in the room when she left to look through her books.

"So that's why Malfoy and his lot all came running out of there..." Hermione said thoughtfully. "I wonder what that black thing was though..."

"You didn't hear anything, even though you were just outside?" Ron asked. "There was a lot of shouting and spells being set off."

Hermione shook her head, "No, it must be part of the spell that hides the room. Even at King's Cross, you can't hear anything from platform nine and three-quarters until you cross the barrier."

The corridors were empty in this part of the castle so there were quite surprised when they noticed a student walking towards them. The dark skinned girl with the pixie haircut was quite familiar to them, she was Hogwarts Champion during last year's Triwizard Tournament, and the current Head Girl. She normally wore a kind smile making it easy for any students with a problem to approach her, but she was coming at them with a frown on her face.

Harry, Ron and Hermione stopped walking when she stood in front of them with her arms crossed, "Have you been duelling in the corridors?"

"No." Harry said quickly.

"Yes." Ron and Hermione said at the same time as Harry, after a brief glance at their friend.

Sammy Omiata raised one eyebrow at Harry, "So you decided to add pimples to your face to make yourself look prettier?"

Harry blushed and raised a hand to his face, feeling the effects of the spell that hit him. He had completely forgotten about it during all that happened in the room. "I.. We didn't.."

"Was it with the three Slytherin second years that ran past me a few minutes ago?" she asked.

"No.. I mean.. they.. we didn't do anything to them.." Harry mumbled.

"Whatever they said, they were lying." Ron said firmly.

The Head Girl looked at Ron suspiciously, "They didn't say anything, they were just running away looking terrified."

"That wasn't us." Hermione told her.

"Hermione Granger, right?" Sammy said, looking at the younger witch. The she turned to Harry. "Hmm.. well if you say so. I would advise you to go see Madam Pomfrey instead of trying to spell it off, it can have nasty consequences."

"That's where we were headed." Hermione answered, before saying goodbye and walking past the Head Girl. The three of them didn't look back and tried walking without looking too guilty. Hermione wanted to tell someone, a professor preferably, what had happened in the room, but Ron and Harry managed to convince her to stay quiet, promising her they would go to a teacher if something bad happened.

They reached the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey took one look at Harry and sighed, "I won't ask." before turning around to get a potion from a cabinet. Harry drank the potion and felt a cooling sensation on his face and when he ran his hands over his cheeks, it was smooth again.

"Are you two alright then?" she turned to Ron and Hermione.

They glanced at each other and gave the matron a guilty look, Ron said, "We're not sure."

"You're not sure?" Madam Pomfrey's nostrils flared, but she took out her wand and slowly started waving it over their heads. "Did you get hit by a spell? A jinx? A hex?"

They didn't reply and after a minute, Pomfrey lowered her wand and gave them a curious look, "I can't find anything wrong with you. What happened?"

"Oh, we thought we might have been hit by a spell and not realised it." Ron said quickly. "It must have missed."

"It must have missed?" she repeated then shook her head in exasperation, "Never mind. If the worst thing that happened was a Pimple Jinx, I'll just stay out of it. But no more duelling or whatever else you're up to, alright?"

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey." they all said.

* * *

It was a week before the Christmas holidays and they had been keeping an eye out for anyone who mentioned seeing a shadowy ghost, but nothing unusual had happened since they were in the room with the mirror. Sue, Ernie and Ron all seemed to want to forget it ever happened and Harry was feeling too guilty to push them into any more investigating. He and Hermione, who was still eager to solve the mystery, tried to find any mention of the room in the library but was stumped and the only clue they had left had been what was written on the mirror.

They were in the common room working on a Transfiguration essay Professor McGonagall had set them, Hermione was furiously scribbling on her parchment while Ron was squinting at his. Harry took out a small piece of folded paper from his pocket and opened it and looked at the single word written on it:

'Ἁρμονία'

It was the word written on the frame of the mirror that Hermione managed to remember and carefully copy. It was written in Ancient Greek, and the translation in English was 'Harmonia', a goddess from Greek Mythology. Like the word suggested it meant harmony, a union or working together and from the four broken wooden animals in the room, they thought that it must have something to do with the four founders working together to build Hogwarts, but found no evidence of something like that ever existing from any of the books.

Ron gave a grunt of frustration and put his quill down and rubbed his eyes with his hand. "I think I'm tired."

Harry looked at the clock on the wall, they had only been working for ten minutes and it was still two hours before then normally went up to bed. "It's still quite early."

Ron scratched his head while looking back at his homework, "I'm having trouble concentrating, the words seem to be jumping about. Oh! If this is one of Fred and George's pranks..."

Harry leaned over to read his friend's work, it was slightly difficult to read, being Ron's usual untidy handwriting, but the words weren't moving like Ron was describing. "It seems to be fine to me. Are you feeling okay?"

Ron blinked a couple of times looking bewildered, "Yeah.. yeah.. it's fine now."

With a sigh Ron started writing again, mumbling to himself. Hermione stretched her arms and yawned, giving Harry time to quickly ask, "Can I have a quick look at your essay?"

Hermione was also looking slightly dazed and she pushed over her the parchment without her usual comment of 'you should really do your own work Harry', and the expression of reproval that accompanied it. A look of confusion was forming on his face as he read through her essay, "Hermione, did Professor Binns give you some extra History of Magic homework? Half of it doesn't even seem to be in-"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione snapped at Harry, snatching her work back from him. "It's the essay that Professor McGonagall asked for about turning woodlice into-"

Her eyes darted back and fourth and her jaws dropped as she was reading her own work. She looked extremely confused as she sputtered, "But I.. but I.. I didn't write this?"

Harry gave her a worried look, "Have you been getting enough sleep?"

Hermione ignored him and continued to read the parchment, with a small frown then suddenly her eyes widened with a look of excitement, "Oh! You two need to read this... the parts in English anyway, you can get the general idea.."

She rushed around the table and placed the parchment between Ron and Harry, they both leaned over to where Hermione was pointing, halfway down the text.

 _Salazar gefeohtan wiþ Godric again, he seem to be getting gealgmódan with each hwílenes dæg. It will become an nehælbæreum rift between the two friends, unless Helga and I can do … the leorningcnihtas are becoming nervous, more and more of them are following in their mentor's fótswaðu and arguments are breaking out amongst them … dréor was spilt today. There seems to be no…_

Harry quickly skimmed through a few sentences then looked up to Hermione, "Salazar? Godric? This is something to do with the Hogwarts founders?"

"Yes I think it is! Salazar, Godric and even Helga, I think these are the words of Rowena Ravenclaw!" Hermione seemed absolutely ecstatic.

"But how? Any why is some of it in... this other language?" Harry wasn't as happy as Hermione, his friend had spontaneously started writing about events that happened a thousand years ago, using strange words that even she didn't seem to understand.

At Harry's last word, Hermione flinched and they stared at each other before she whispered, "The mirror?"

"It seems slightly different?" Harry said quickly, staring at the unfamiliar letters. He noticed that Ron still seemed to be reading the parchment and gently placed his hand on Ron's shoulder. "Ron, are you okay?"

"Yeah, this is amazing! Is any of it actually true?" Ron looked almost as excited as Hermione had been, "If we learnt this stuff in History, I'd be paying attention to Binns any day..."

Hermione blinked uncertainly, "Ron... you can read all of it?"

Ron frowned, "Well yeah. Your handwriting's always neat so it's pretty easy. 'Salazar fought with Godric again, he seems to be getting angrier with each passing day...'"

He continued reading out loud until Harry cleared his throat and spoke to him, "Uh... Ron. Half the words aren't in English."

"What are you talking about?" Ron stared at the parchment and blinked a few times. He then jumped back, knocking over his chair and pointed at the table. "Wha.. what.. what's going on."

* * *

After a trip to the hospital wing, under the pretence of a stomach ache, revealed nothing other than Madam Pomfrey's short temper for time wasters, they decided to turn to another person for help. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were visiting their eldest son Bill, who was currently working in Egypt, and like last year the rest of the Weasleys (other than Percy) were planning to stay with their uncle. Gideon Prewett, as Harry had learnt earlier this year, was a healer with a speciality in helping people who were somehow unable to tap into their magic. If he could find the smallest traces of magic left in people like that, perhaps he would be able to find whatever magic was affecting Ron and Hermione.

Hermione would spend Christmas with her parents, but was planning on visiting the Burrow on Boxing Day, and they would speak to Gideon then. This time Harry accepted Ron's offer of spending Christmas with his family, although he thought he shouldn't enjoy himself too much and keep an eye on Ron. However it was difficult not to enjoy spending time with his favourite family, Gideon and Kasper were very welcoming and Fred. George and Ginny were all delighted to get away from school for a while. Even Ron, after the little scare in the common room, seemed to be less worried about his situation than Harry was and enjoyed the food and games without a second thought.

Christmas dinner was much more modest affair than Harry had experienced the previous year at Hogwarts, but he enjoyed it immensely. They pulled crackers and laughed, the turkey was juicy and the vegetables perfectly cooked and by the time they finished, everyone was full to bursting. After they finished eating, Harry and Ron were sitting on comfortable chairs, playing a game of chess. Harry was feeling sleepy and was only paying a little attention to the board, Ron also had a tired look on his face.

"Hmm.. bishop to C5..." Ron murmured.

Harry looked up, waiting for the enchanted piece to move and destroy his pawn, but the board was still. Looking closely, he saw that neither of Ron's two bishops were in a spot that could take that square. It seemed unlike his friend to make a mistake like that, "Erm.. Ron. I don't think that's a legal move."

"Oh, right." Ron said, straightening up. "I forgot they changed the rules.."

"Did they?" Harry asked.

"Hmm.. pawn to C5 then..." Ron ignored the question.

Harry just shrugged and considered his own move. He had never actually managed to beat Ron before, he was just too good at this game, but Harry had been getting better since he started playing last year. Maybe if Ron was making silly mistakes like this, he might have a chance of winning the game for once. "Okay, pawn to F4."

"Bishop to B4, and checkmate in seven moves." Ron muttered the last part.

"What?" Harry sat up alarmed and looked at the chessboard. They had barely been playing for five minutes and Harry could see no immediate danger to his king.

"Sorry, I was just thinking to myself." Ron yawned.

Harry took a lot longer to play after that, trying to carefully consider the consequences of each move, but even so, after seven moves his king was surrounded on all sides.

"Alright, we should go to bed if we want to be awake when Hermione gets here." Ron stretched and stood up.

Harry turned away from possibly the worst game of chess he'd every played and followed Ron up the stairs.

Hermione arrived the next morning and joined Harry and the Weasleys for a late brunch. Kasper was unfortunately called into work but she was introduced to Gideon, who made a joke about Ron already having a girlfriend, causing Ron to stutter a denial and Hermione to blush furiously. They helped clear up the table and sat back down, trying to find a moment to talk to Gideon, without the others knowing.

"Mr. Prew- Gideon I mean," Hermione was having trouble calling an adult by his first name, even though he insisted. "Ron said you're a healer?"

"Yep, work at St. Mungos." Gideon replied. "I work with people who have trouble with their magic."

"He said you... that there's some sort of bottle that helps with that?" Hermione had been curious about it every since Harry and Ron mentioned it early in the year.

Gideon pulled out the little bronze coloured bottle from his robes. "Yep. This one's a little temperamental, but it works most of the time."

"How does it work?" Harry asked.

"You really want to know?" Gideon raised an eyebrow at them, Hermione nodded firmly. "Well I work with this, called the Affirmare Charm, and another one that looks similar... Have you heard of the Nullificare Charm?"

Harry vaguely remembered hearing about it before, but could recall exactly when, but Hermione nodded once again and said, "The one Albus Dumbledore is famous for inventing?"

"Yes, that's the one. I'm sure you've learnt at school that the mental state of the witch or wizard can affect the magic being used. Magic can be temperamental when certain emotions are involved, so these are used to negate those feelings to a certain degree." he explained, shaking his bottle.

"And that's enough for squibs to be able to use magic?" Hermione seemed unsatisfied with the answer.

Gideon frowned in thought. "No, there is… It's difficult to explain, partially because I don't know fully myself, but those are slightly different. What I'm told is that the ones that born squibs wear allows them to… recall a sort of stored emotional memory of using magic. I don't know how true it is though, I've never worked with those myself and I only held one briefly, but..."

"But what?" Ron asked curiously, seeing the strange look on his uncle's face.

"It was a bit of a rush… I felt like I could do anything" Gideon said with a wistful expression, before shaking his head and turning back to the others. "But in the end they decided that an Affirmare Charm was enough for me, not that I'm complaining."

Gideon was grinning, but they could obviously tell that if given a choice, he would give up his own little bottle for the other. Fred suddenly asked, "Where can I get one of those?"

"And why, my dear nephew, would you need one?" Gideon said with an amused look.

"Extra magical power? Yes please." said George.

Everyone around the table laughed. "Well because of that very reason, the use of those are heavily regulated. They're quite rare as well and not even all squibs get one, you either have to be well connected or lucky, just for a chance to hold one."

They talked for a while more, but the twins and Ginny seemed to show no signs of wanting to leave. Thankfully, they had planned for this happening.

"I'm really sorry to ask Mr- Gideon I mean, but there's a Potions homework that I'd like your opinion on... as a healer." Hermione said.

"What? It's Christmas!" Fred exclaimed.

Hermione blushed, "I know but... I'm from a Muggle family, so I won't really have a chance to speak to an actual healer. I mean, if you don't mind Gideon."

Gideon gave her a curious look, "Of course, I don't mind."

"Well have fun, we're off for a game of Quidditch." Fred said, "Harry, Ron, you guys coming?"

"Erm, maybe in a bit, Snape usually gives me horrible marks so whatever help I can get..." Harry said as Fred, George and Ginny stood to leave, "You're welcome to borrow my Nimbus."

"Sweet." George said. "Ron?"

"Yeah... in a bit... homework and Snape, you know?" Ron mumbled.

When the three were gone, Gideon turned to Harry, Ron and Hermione, "Alright, what's going on? It's not about homework is it?"

"We..we were wondering if you could see if there was... anything wrong with us?" Hermione said evasively.

Gideon's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean? What happened?"

"We're not really sure.." Ron scratched his head, "We've been to Madam Pomfrey but.. could you just check, and not tell mum?"

"Depends how bad it is." Gideon said while pulling out his wand. He first waved it over Hermione, then Harry and finally Ron, a small frown forming on his face. "Have you been taking any Memory Potions lately?"

"Memory potions?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, well you two anyway." Gideon pointed at Ron and Hermione, then sighed. "I know there's a lot of pressure to do well, but you shouldn't resort to potions to get ahead and besides, they can have really nasty side effects."

"Like what?" Ron said, looking worried.

"Remembering too much, remembering false memories, it could be a lot of things..." Gideon sighed, "When did you last take the potion?"

"A couple of weeks ago.." Harry said.

"Really?" Gideon looked at Ron and Hermione, who both nodded. "Must have been a badly made batch then, the effects should have worn off by now. I'll ask Kas to bring something that might help. But promise me you won't drink any more of the stuff, alright?"

Gideon left them for a moment, saying he needed to get a message to Kasper. Hermione waited until he was gone and pulled a sheet of folded parchment from her pocket and handed it over to Ron. "Here, read this."

"What is it?" Ron took the parchment and unfolded it.

"I've been trying to write down more of Ravenclaw's memories, and I think this one's an important bit, but I'm having a bit of trouble with the Old English. I'm wondering if you could read it like last time?" Hermione said, slightly impatiently.

Ron squinted at the words and as he blinked once, the slightly dazed look came over his face again, "I have trapped the creature in the mirror, the being of strife and discord. My theory was correct, the... Erisian spirit was born from the rift between us, amplified by the magic surrounding the castle. Once it was captured, the students have calmed once more, no longer waging war against those who apprenticed under a different master. Destroying the thing seems to be impossible, not until Salazar decides to return, and if not him a student who bears his teachings. So I shall keep the room hidden, until the rift between the four is healed and the four founders, or our apprentices, stand before the door demanding entrance. I also leave my memory of the incident, in case the spirit manages to escape, for if it is left to roam..."

Ron gulped. Harry asked hoarsely, "What will happen?"

"For if it is left to roam... it will rip apart any ideals of brotherhood, it will pit sister against sister, the castle will slowly decay and Hogwarts shall perish."


	13. Year 2 - Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **A School Divided**

When they were back at Hogwarts, they decided to go to Professor McGonagall as soon as possible. They considered sending an owl, but thought that something like this needed to be told in person, rather than through a letter. Trying to ignore the dire warnings, they firmly told themselves that there wouldn't be many people staying in the castle over the holidays and if they went to the Professor as soon as they got off the train, it would be sorted before dinnertime.

Harry, Ron and Sue, who was filled in about the situation on the train, made their way towards the mirror room, while Hermione went looking for Professor McGonagall. They briefly looked inside and found that everything was exactly as they left it, with the mirror and the frame still broken. They waited outside, all showing their nervousness in their own way, Sue was pacing the corridor while biting her fingernails and Harry was leaning against the wall, pushing his hand through the portal every few seconds to make sure it was till there while Ron was absentmindedly playing with a small bracelet on his wrist.

When Kasper brought the bracelets to the Burrow, he instructed Ron and Hermione to wear them and try and hold in their mind the memories that they needed to suppress, then he tapped on it with his wand and muttered " _Incipio._ "

The bracelets glowed for a moment and they both gasped. The next quarter of an hour was spent questioning them, making sure they targeted the correct memories and Harry helped by asking them to recall things that had happened last year. The spell seemed to have worked and Gideon told them to wear it until the effects of the 'Memory Potion' wore off, they had to check by taking it off once a day. Hermione wore it in front of the healers, but took it off later deciding that learning everything she could from Ravenclaw's memories was more important. Ron only took it off when he needed to read what Hermione wrote down, as the memories seem to affect him more, he was having more and more trouble reading English without the bracelet.

They had been standing there for almost five minutes with no sign of Hermione returning with Professor McGonagall and Harry was beginning to get impatient. He just about stopped himself from snapping at Sue, he could hear the crunch every time she bit into her nails and the constant tap of her shoes on the stone floor was echoing in the empty corridor. She was a little apprehensive but still determined to fix this problem when she was on the train, but seemed to get anxious the moment they stepped inside the castle. Harry wondered if it had something to do with the fact that, Ernie, who was with them on the train, was told by a Hufflepuff prefect standing in the entrance hall that everyone in their house was to go to their common room before going to dinner.

"I'll be inside." Harry said, before stepping into the room once more. He didn't want to lash out at Sue, but somehow he didn't trust himself not to if he stayed out there. He walked up to the broken animals littering the floor and carefully picked up the pieces of the Gryffindor Lion, trying to reign in his desire to try and fix it with a simple Mending Charm. They had agreed, or rather Hermione had strictly told them, that they shouldn't touch anything in that room until they had as much information as possible. Harry sighed and put the pieces back down, taking care to position them how they were before he picked them up. That was when the walls lurched.

The room twisted slightly and Harry was flung to the side and slammed into the wall. He tried to get up but the floor was at an angle so he could only stare as he saw the pillar, the mirror and the fragments littering the floor twist slightly and disappear from view. He heard a noise of grinding stone, and he looked up to find the wall ahead of him was dragging itself towards him. Harry let out a panicked yell and tried to crawl towards the entrance, but the uneven floor and the shaking room meant that he kept falling on his face and was having difficulty making that short distance.

With a shout he leaned against the wall and pushed out his feet, trying to stop the wall from coming any closer, and it miraculously stopped. Harry slowly eased the pressure from his legs, and sighed in relief as the wall remained still, but then he heard the noise again. The wall furthest from him was now falling in, the window shrunk to a size barely larger than his hand. He just managed to get to his feet as he felt the wall against his back and he was pushed towards the entrance as the walls constantly churned around him. He hoped fervently that the portal was still open.

He was thrown through the wall and Harry landed in the corridor, his back scraping against the floor as he skidded to a halt. Ron and Sue were by his side in an instant, "Harry, are you okay?"

Harry just kept his eyes closed and groaned, fighting the urge to throw up. He had felt something very similar last year, when during Quidditch practice, Fred and George dared him spin vertically on the spot fifty times. He managed half of it before he slowly floated to the ground and showed everyone what he had for breakfast that day. There was the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said sharply, "what on earth do you think you're doing? Get off the floor at once."

Harry scrambled to his feet with the help of Ron, and looked at his head of house. Harry thought he noticed the tiniest hint of a frown when she looked at Sue, but she turned to Harry to speak, "So where is this secret room you think you have found?"

"It's just-" they turned around to find that the doorframe was gone. In fact the whole section of wall had disappeared and the two doors leading to the rooms on either side were a lot closer together.

Hermione rushed up to the wall and ran her hands all over it, desperately trying to find the opening, "It was here! Was it here? What happened?"

"I don't know, I was in the room but I was thrown out for some reason." Harry said, looking bewildered.

They started from the door of the disused office and made their way to the door on the other side, pushing against every inch of the wall. They stopped when Professor McGonagall made an impatient noise, "If this is your idea of a joke, Miss Granger, I am not amused. Miss Li, make your way to the Great Hall, I need to speak to these three."

Sue opened her mouth to argue but McGonagall's mouth thinned and she sent a glare towards the Ravenclaw. Sue mumbled a "See you later." to her friends and left them with the visibly irate Deputy Headmistress.

McGonagall waited until they could no longer hear Sue's footsteps then she turned to the three Gryffindors. "So which one of you came up with this ridiculous lie about a secret room?"

"It's not a lie!"

"We we were actually in there!"

"It's something left over from the founder's time!"

"ENOUGH!" Professor McGonagall silenced them in an instant. "I expected better from you three, especially you Miss Granger. Five points from Gryffindor, for each of you-"

"But-" there were tears in Hermione's eyes. She had never lost Gryffindor any points before.

McGonagall continued, ignoring Hermione "-and if I hear you making any more of these outlandish claims, I will not hesitate to place all of you in detention. Yes, even you Miss Granger, I do _not_ want to see you acting foolish, especially in front of Ravenclaws such as Miss Li."

She stepped aside and looked at them expectantly, so they had no choice but to walk pass her and make their way down to the Great Hall. She followed close behind them so they couldn't even talk about what just happened, so they kept their mouths shut until they reached their destination and stepped inside. Harry was glad to see that the returning students seemed to be in a cheery mood, no breakdown of order, just friends asking each other how they had spent their holidays. The professors also seemed to be talking normally, but Harry saw a few suspicious glances directed at each other, something he probably wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't looking for it. He also realised that the seat which Professor Riddle normally occupied was empty.

"Where's the Headmaster?" Harry asked Professor McGonagall.

The Professor raised her eyebrow at him, "He has been busy, especially after what happened last... Suffice it to say, he is away from Hogwarts for the moment and if that has satisfied your curiosity please go take a seat."

They found some empty seats near the end of the table and waited for Professor McGonagall to welcome the students back, then they turned to each other, ignoring the food in front of them, even Ron.

"What happened to the room?" Hermione hissed at them.

"It was there when we got there but..." Harry tried to explain what had happened to his two friends.

Hermione listened carefully then she took out the parchment where she had written down everything to do with the spirit, "The room is meant to be hidden until Hogwarts wants to be 'whole again', but with this... Erisian released and already affecting the professors, the spell must have concealed the room."

"What about us? We were able to go inside, at least at first." Ron said, picking at some chips he moved onto his plate.

"Maybe it's because we were already in the room once? Or maybe it's because we know what's really going on?" Hermione sighed and pocketed her notes. "I don't know! We need to know more, we'll have to see if we can get back in there."

They didn't get a chance to go back to the corridor that night, as Percy Weasley, the prefect, herded them back to the common room and they didn't want to risk being caught outside after curfew.

The next morning they woke up early and left the common room before anyone else and leaving behind a grumpy portrait of the Fat Lady they had woken, they made their way up to the mirror room. They had been expecting the worst, but were relieved when they found the room had materialised again, everything inside just as Harry had seen before the room twisted and disappeared. It didn't immediately solve anything, but they knew what was in this room would be the key to trapping the creature once more.

* * *

When they couldn't get through to Professor McGonagall, they thought the best course of action would be go over her head and contact the Headmaster. Harry sent Hedwig carrying a letter, very briefly explaining what they had accidentally unleashed upon the school, asking him to return as soon as possible. Unfortunately Hedwig flew into the Great Hall the next morning looking very confused, carrying the same letter, apparently having been unable to deliver it. From what McGonagall had said in the Great Hall, they thought that he must be looking into the incident that happened last year and investigating the possible resurrection of an evil wizard that had previously terrorised Europe for more than half a century and did not want to be tracked.

Their next choice was Harry's favourite teacher, but also the Professor he would least like to be around if he happened to lose his temper. That was the reason why Harry was hesitating before knocking on the door to the office of Aberforth Dumbledore. Ron and Hermione pushed him forward, insisting that Harry was the Professor's favourite so he nervously gave the wooden door a few sharp taps.

"Come in." They flinched as they heard the Professor's voice was devoid of the normal kindness and was rather sharp with impatience. They stood before the Professor who was massaging his temple with his right hand and looking at them expectantly.

"Professor Dumbledore..." Harry began and he told him everything, slowly at first, but once he got going everything poured out very quickly, about the room, the spirit and the memories. The Professor gave them a sceptical look at first and it slowly changed to a frown but he remained still, only turning to face Ron or Hermione when they spoke while Harry caught his breath.

Dumbledore sighed deeply, but surprisingly gave them a weak smile, "Yes. That seems to explain much. Although why I'm feeling such anger at Albus, I do not understand..."

The Professor closed his eyes, deep in thought and he seemed to forget the three students standing before him until Hermione quietly cleared her throat, "Erm.. Professor?"

"Ah, forgive me. We do have a problem on our hands, don't we?" Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"So you believe us?" Ron asked apprehensively.

"Yes I do, Mr. Weasley. The behaviour of the professors, the mild headaches, the unseasonal warmth-"

"What warmth?" Harry interrupted, January in Scotland could in no way be described as 'warm' and even now he was wearing several layers under his robes.

Dumbledore nodded knowingly, "You must have received some sort of protection when you entered the room, something to guarantee that there would be someone of sound mind to capture the spirit again if it was released. The heat quickens the temper, making it difficult to think clearly."

"Bu..but you're okay, right?" Ron asked hopefully.

The old professor sighed again and shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid not. The first thing the Erisian targets is the mind's ability to perceive it and replace it with irrational anger, in a few days time, I will probably forget we ever had this conversation."

They looked at Dumbledore in shock, and Hermione said, "Then we need to get everyone out of here, before they-"

"NO!" Harry, Ron and Hermione flinched and jumped back at the Professor's vehement shout, "Forgive me, it is difficult for me to... If we evacuate the castle, there is a chance that the Erisian might latch onto someone and follow them out. We must keep it within Hogwarts, there is no telling how much damage it will do if it spreads to the rest of wizarding Britain."

"Then what do we do? Do you know how to get rid of it?" Hermione asked in a panic.

"No. I do not." Dumbledore simply stated.

"But you're the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor!" Harry said desperately.

"The Erisian is such a rare occurrence, not many people will know what it is, and even those who have heard of it, barely think of it more than as an exaggerated myth. I know of three events in history that were attributed to the Erisian, two of which is now mostly regarded as being caused by a few Furiaius Curses. From what you have told me, it seems you three have more knowledge about this and how to stop it than anyone else." Dumbledore pulled out a piece of parchment and started writing on it.

The three students standing in front of the Professor were staring at him in disbelief, before they could get a word out he handed them the parchment and said, "Look for this book in the library, it may be of some help to you."

"But Professor..." Hermione said shakily, "the memories, they aren't complete. We have no idea how to stop this thing..."

"If it is indeed the memories of Rowena Ravenclaw, the knowledge you need will be in there somewhere." Professor Dumbledore said gravely, "I will be trying to slow the progress of the Erisian, but that is all I can do. I wish you the best of luck."

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione spent the next few weeks trying to extract as much information they could get out of Hermione's new memories. She couldn't just will the memories to the surface, they came and went randomly so she was always prepared with a blank sheet of parchment and a quill. She was scolded once or twice by the professors for not paying attention in class, which was very unusual for her, but by now most of the students were acting unusually to a degree.

Most notably the Hufflepuffs who now moved between classes huddled close together, avoiding eye contact with anyone from a different house. Ernie had told them that when all the Hufflepuffs were called to the common room on their first day back, Professor Sprout, their head of house, had warned them to keep a close eye out for each other and stressed the importance of loyalty within the house. It was so out of character for her that it was met with with surprise and some nervous laughter, but within a few days most of them were following her words to the letter. Justin was one of these people, leaving the class quickly with Hannah, never giving Harry a chance to even speak with him.

His other close friend, Anthony approached Harry one day after class, saying he needed a private word. After convincing a scowling and an over-protective Neville that he would be fine, his relief at his friend finally talking to him turned to a grim resignation, when Anthony told Harry bluntly that he no longer wanted to take part in H.E.R.S. activities, saying he needed to give more attention to his schoolwork.

Sue and Ernie continued to speak to them, although they had to meet in secret since people seemed to scowl and try to separate them when they were seen together in public. During one of these secret meetings, Sue told them than even the normally cool headed Ravenclaws seemed to be showing more temper than usual.

"Terry Boot apparently threw a chessboard at a fifth year Hufflepuff when he lost a game in Chess Club." she told them, while uneasily eyeing the door to the empty classroom they were currently in. "And in Charms Club, a couple of sixth year Slytherin and Gryffindors started throwing Confundus Charms at each other and four people had to go to the hospital wing!"

The strangest thing was no one seemed to notice how strange Hogwarts had become. The interactions between the houses hadn't yet escalated to the level where people were duelling in the corridors, as the memories had revealed to have happened in the past, but any suggestion that there was something unnatural affecting the students and staff were met with scoffs, telling them that it was just good-natured inter-house rivalry.

The book Professor Dumbledore suggested didn't have any information on how to get rid of the Erisian, but it gave them a horrible idea of what would happen if it remained in Hogwarts for too long. It was a thick tome titled ' _History of Witchcraft in Ancient Greece_ ', which Sue had to borrow, since Irma Pince the librarian was very hesitant in lending out books to students that weren't in her former house.

Hermione skimmed through it quickly until she found the relevant chapter, "This is where the story of the Judgement of Paris comes from!"

She looked at them excitedly but no one had a clue what she was talking about, even Sue. Ernie asked, "Is it something that happened in France?"

"What? No! It's from Greek mythology. From a Muggle's point of view anyway..." she looked at Harry, the only one raised by Muggles, but he just shrugged.

"We get it Hermione, you know more than the rest of us put together. Can you just tell us?" Ron rolled his eyes.

Hermione glared at Ron, "According to myth, the Judgement of Pa-"

"Hermione, how about just the wizarding version?" Harry said impatiently. They were protected from the worst effects of the Erisian, but they still snapped at each other quite often.

"Fine!" Hermione slammed the book onto the table. "The book says the only reliably documented case of an Erisian was on the Greek island of Encremelos, where there was a thriving community of wizards and witches. It happened when a Muggle, the son of a fruit merchant was caught in a shipwreck and washed up onto the shore where three sisters found him and took him to their home to care for him. They were fascinated by the first Muggle they had ever seen and with his apparent good looks, they all fell in love with the man. Weeks they spent lavishing the sailor with gifts and showing him the wonders of magic, each trying to out-do their siblings and each time this happened, they slowly grew more and more resentful of each other."

Hermione turned the page and continued. "The sheer amount of magic present in the settlement and the fact that the three siblings were all very powerful witches, gave birth to something very evil. Weeks passed again without them realising what they had created, but petty arguments turned into savage shouting and eventually they attacked one another, believing the only way to capture the Muggle's heart would be to kill the others. The eldest and most powerful sister killed her younger siblings and suddenly coming to a horrible realisation of what she had done, she ran to the village for help. The Erisian was still hungering for more discord and weaved itself onto the witch and followed her to the settlement, where it began spreading it's influence. The Muggle had fully recovered by now, but was oblivious to what had happened. He had all the food and comforts he could desire, but when none of the siblings visited him for seven days, he grew worried and wandered outside. He didn't know where the village was, but he could see a plume of thick black smoke coming from the distance and walked towards it. When he reached the village, he came upon a scene of carnage. There were bodies littering the streets, bloodied and broken, and those that were still alive peeked out of the windows in suspicion and shot out hexes and curses to anyone they laid their eyes on. He ran back to the witches' house and stayed there for weeks, not daring to step outside the door."

They all let out a breath they didn't realised they'd been holding and shivered. A sudden realisation came to Harry and he gasped, "Wait, we broke the mirror before Christmas and then loads of people went away for the holidays! Does that mean...?"

Everyone gasped and Ron swore rather loudly, causing Hermione to glare at him again. She then said uncertainly, "I..I don't think so. It says the witches spent weeks with the Muggle after the Erisian was born, they must have visited the village from time to time, but it was only when... it must take some time before it can spread to others."

"It also didn't spread to the rest of Britain when Slytherin left the castle." Sue said trying to reassure them. "What I want to know is how they found out any of this, it sounds like everyone on the island... died."

Hermione turned the page again and quickly read a few sentences, "A friend of the three witches decided to visit them and came across the Muggle. The Muggle explained what had happened to the island and she prudently decided to leave instead of investigating. She later told others what had happened and after several attempts to discover the Erisian led to more people being affected, they declared the island off limits to everyone. They made it unplottable, Muggle-repellent and covered the whole island with an anti-apparition charm."

They stayed silent for a few minutes, thinking over the story that they had just heard. Ron coughed and asked hesitantly, "So how exactly does this help us?"

"It..it doesn't really, I guess." Hermione said with a sigh.

No one argued her answer until Harry let out a groan, "Yes it does. It gives us a deadline."

"What do you mean?" his friends asked all at once.

"There's a Hogsmeade weekend in February and I don't think we can risk it spreading into the village. That gives us a month.. just over a month to find out how to get rid of the thing."

* * *

" _Reparo. Reparo! REPARO!_ " Hermione shouted again and again.

"It's not working Hermione." Ernie said quietly, flinching when the young witch turned to him with her wand raised.

She took a deep breath and lowered her wand. "I'm sorry Ernie."

They stared at the metallic key, still broken cleanly in two pieces. The cracks in the glass were completely gone and the four wooden animals were whole again, but the key, possibly the most important part of the magical frame, was obstinately refusing to be repaired by their Mending Charms. Hermione kept telling them that the spell doesn't work on objects of complex magic, while trying over and over to repair the key. When hit with the charm, it would snap back together for a few seconds, before vibrating slightly and breaking apart again.

They had tried going to Professor Dumbledore again, but true to his word, he seemed to have completely forgotten about the conversation about the Erisian and just gave them an annoyed glare before telling them not waste any more of his time.

"We need to find someone outside the castle to fix this..." Harry said slowly.

"Should we send it by owl to someone?" Sue asked uncertainly.

"Do you know anyone who could do it?" Ron asked her. Sue thought for a moment then shook her head. Ernie did the same.

"I'm sorry! It's all my fault!" Hermione said, tears welling up in her eyes. They had spent the last two weeks trying to repair the key. Hermione had been convinced she could do it, borrowing several books from the library on how to repair magical objects but no matter how long she spent on it, she didn't get any results and when anyone tried to stop her she would snap at them viciously.

No one tried to cheer her up, they were all quite annoyed with her. Harry scratched his head in frustration. "Valentine's Day is next week, the key's still broken and we haven't even been able to talk to any Slytherins.. We don't have time!"

From the memories that slowly trickled out of Hermione, they found out that one of the requirements of getting rid of the Erisian for good was having someone from each of the four houses working together. It would mean, much to their dismay, that either Malfoy, Crabbe or Goyle would have to help them. It was all but impossible to approach them, they were constantly surrounded by other Slytherins and on top of that, they seemed to be enjoying the current mood gripping Hogwarts. Malfoy especially, sent scathing remarks at the other students, not realising or caring that there was something unnatural going on.

"Hogsmeade!" Ron suddenly exclaimed.

"Yes Ron. In a week. I just said that." Harry growled at his friend.

"No! I just had an idea!" Ron said happily, completely ignoring Harry's annoyance. "Fred and George told me about a shop in Hogsmeade called Dervish and Banges which sells magical stuff. Wait, shut up Harry, they also _repair_ stuff as well!"

"You're thinking about the secret passageways your brothers told us about, aren't you?" Hermione asked weakly.

"Yeah! The one behind the mirror, they said even Filch doesn't know about that one!" Ron said, a little too excitedly.

"We could get in so much trouble..." Hermione whispered.

"I don't think we have a choice Hermione. We're really running out of time." Harry told her and eventually she agreed, very reluctantly. "Alright, we'll go tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Hermione squealed. "We need to plan everything... we need to..."

"We don't have time Hermione." Ron said forcefully. They spent the next hour working out how they were going to do this.

The next morning, they met in an empty classroom on the fourth floor, right next to the mirror with the secret passageway out of the castle.

"Harry, keep your eyes closed." Sue said, as she poured a potion onto his head. Harry felt a tingling sensation and suddenly his scalp felt too hot. "Don't touch it yet."

It took about half a minute, then he carefully touched his hair, making sure it was still all on him. He turned to his friends, "How do I look?"

"You look really weird with blond hair." Ernie said.

"You don't look like Harry Potter, that's the important thing." Hermione said, looking quite amused.

Harry tried to pull his hair down so he could see the colour, "How long will it last?"

"Mandy said it normally lasts a day if you use the whole bottle, but I only used a little so maybe a few hours?" Sue told him.

"Alright do you have everything?" Hermione asked.

"I have the key," Ernie held out a small paper bag with the pieces of the key in it. "and Sue has the signature..."

Sue handed Hermione a sheet of parchment. It read, 'I give permission for these three students to visit Hogsmeade in order to repair an object of great importance. They are permitted to visit Dervish and Banges and nowhere else. Signed, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.' Sue had spent a better part of an hour trying to copy the professor's handwriting and signature and it was surprisingly close. She blushed and mumbled something when they asked how she so good at it.

Hermione handed the parchment back to Sue. "Okay, it should be useful, just in case. The key, the signature, some gold... oh the bandage."

"We have everything, wish us luck." Harry said nervously, rubbing the bandage that Hermione put on him to cover his scar.

"Good luck." Hermione said, giving Sue a brief hug. She then turned to frown at Ron.

"Good luck." Ron sighed. He had been sulking since last night when they decided that Hermione and Ron should stay behind to see if they could squeeze out any more information from Ravenclaw's memory, and translate a few pages they hadn't yet gotten around to. "Sorry I really mean it, good luck."

"Thanks Ron. We'll be back soon." Harry said and he left the classroom with Sue and Ernie. They made sure no one was in the corridor, and walked up to the mirror. Harry gave it a hard pull from the side and the mirror came away from the wall, as if on a hinge, revealing a dark passageway. They lighted their wands and walked through.

The passageway suddenly opened up into a cavern, so huge that the lights from their wands didn't reach the edges. The darkness surrounding them was quite unsettling so they talked in whispers only when they had to and kept walking forwards keeping close together.

"Did you hear something?" Sue suddenly stopped and asked.

Harry and Ernie stood still, listening carefully. "No, what was it?"

"It sounded like something crackling..." Sue replied in a whisper. They continued walking until a loud echoing crash came from behind them. Harry pointed his wand forward and saw a boulder the size of his head had dropped where they had just been standing moments ago.

"Let's get going." Harry said shakily.

They continued in silence, the huge cavern narrowed once more into a small corridor and then they reached some crudely cut stairs, leading up. They were panting heavily by the time they reached the top, and in front of them was a stone shaped in a perfect circle blocking their way. As soon as Harry gently touched the stone, it slid sideways disappearing into the wall and they were greeted by sunlight, peeking through some green shrubbery.

Harry leaned his head out first and when he couldn't see anyone, he climbed through the hole. They came out behind a large boulder surrounded by trees, sheltering them from view.

"We're at the edge of the village," Ernie, the only one who had visited Hogsmeade before, told them. "Dervish and Banges should be this way..."

They made their way through the village, feeling very anxious but looking like they belonged there. Ernie had stressed this point, if they looked confident and walked with their backs straight, people would assume they were allowed to be there. They passed only a few villagers, it was still early on a Saturday morning, and thankfully they didn't call them out. After a third witch passed them by, giving them a curious look, Harry let out a breath of relief, they were going to make it. However, Sue was shaking quite badly so Ernie held her hand tightly, whispering reassuringly under his breath.

They opened the door to the shop, hearing the bell tinkle to announce their arrival. The shop was empty and there was no one behind the counter but they heard a voice coming from the back of the shop, "Welcome to Dervish and Banges! I am Philo Dervish, co-owner and-"

A wizard wearing purple robes and a bright yellow turban walked up to the counter with his hands raised in welcome, but seeing the three young students in his shop his mouth snapped shut. He scratched his grey, scraggly beard and looked at them suspiciously, "Hogwarts students are you? I thought your weekend in the village wasn't until next week?"

Ernie walked up and said confidently, "It is next week, but we needed to get something important repaired so we got permission from Professor McGonagall."

Ernie walked up to the counter and upturned the paper bag and dropped the broken key onto the wooden surface. Sue had her hand in her pocket tightly gripping the forged note, but she didn't have to get it out. Mr. Dervish took out a monocle and placed it on his right eye then leaned forward until the tip of his nose was almost touching the key.

"Fascinating..." he whispered, carefully picking it up and examining it from all angles. He took out his wand and gave it a gentle prod, while muttering something under his breath. "Absolutely brilliant..."

This continued for about five minutes until Harry cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Dervish?"

"Yes, almost like a ghost-trapper? No... almost, but different. No I've seen something similar that was used to get rid of a poltergeist..." he raised his head and looked at them, "Are they finally trying to get rid of Peeves?"

"Erm, not exactly... Can you fix it Mr. Dervish?" Harry asked, avoiding the shopkeeper's questioning look.

"Yes, I think I so. I supposed since you've come here today, it needs to be fixed as soon as possible?" Harry, Sue and Ernie nodded at him, "Alright, I think... an hour should be enough. You're welcome to have a look around the shop while you wait."

They stayed in the shop, deciding it was better to keep out of sight. There were a few customers, but Mr. Dervish returned from the back of the shop to keep anyone who was being too nosy away from them. It took slightly longer than expected but they left the shop in two hours, with Harry's bag of coins considerably lighter, but with a whole and unbroken magical key inside the paper bag.

Within minutes of leaving the shop they were back inside the secret passageway making their way back to the castle, in a much better mood than before. Even the gloom of the underground couldn't lower their spirits, since they were a step closer to finally getting rid of the Erisian. Their cheerful chattering came to an abrupt halt when they heard a crackling, grinding noise from above, punctuated by the staccato of falling pebbles. They had just entered the large chamber and were about halfway back. They took a few hesitant steps forward when there was a loud crack and a huge boulder crashed onto a floor, shaking the whole chamber and the three held on to each other for support.

"Harry we need to go back!" Ernie grabbed Sue's hand and started running back the way they came. Harry followed soon after, with his arms raised above to protect his head. Sue tripped and Harry paused to help her back up and grabbed her other hand and dragged her along, urging her forward. They clambered up the stairs on all fours, coughing as dust filled the air and completely obscured their vision. Just as they pushed through the hole they heard an earth shattering crash that knocked them onto the grassy ground.

"That.." Harry said after taking a huge gulp of breath, "..that was close."

"We have to find another way back." Sue said quietly.

Ernie was trying to get the dust off his robes, "We'll have to take one of the other secret passageways that the Weasley twins mentioned..."

"But they didn't mention where the passageways lead to in Hogsmeade, how are we going to find them?" Sue asked in a panic.

"I think they said there's one that comes out near the station.." Harry told them, "Ernie, which way is the station?"

There were a lot more people in the streets now, and most of them were giving the three students strange looks. They were still trying to act casual, but their robes and hair were dusty and in a complete mess. One or two people asked them what they were doing outside of school, but they pretended not to hear and walked faster towards Hogsmeade Station. The station was empty, which was unsurprising since it was very rarely used other than for taking the Hogwarts students to and from King's Cross.

They split up, trying to find the hidden entrance, tapping the walls and touching everything that looked out of place. But after ten minutes, they had thoroughly searched through the small station, without any luck.

"Maybe we should just try getting through the gate?" Ernie asked. They looked towards the entrance to Hogwarts Castle, which remained firmly sealed.

"No, there's bound to be loads of protective spells on the gate. I don't think we'll be able to open it." Sue told him.

They heard voices coming out of the station building and hurriedly moved to the side and behind it. Thankfully, they weren't noticed and it was just two people making idle conversation while slowly walking towards the village. They leaned back against the wall, sighing in relief and frustration. They suddenly heard the noise of scraping bricks and they jumped away from the wall. The greyish red bricks were pulling apart making a hole large enough for a person to walk through. Their laughter turned to a gasp of shock when someone walked out of the newly formed opening.

"Harry? Sue? Ernie?" the wizard asked in surprise. "What are you three doing here?"

They dumbstruck students gaped in silence, until finally Harry managed a weak, "Hi.. Remus.."

* * *

 **A/N**

Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. This is so late. This second year is a __lot__ more difficult to write compared to the first, and I can't seem to churn them out as quickly as I did before.

Thank you to everyone who has left a review, be it a positive comment or a piece of constructive criticism. In case you haven't noticed already, this is my first time writing a piece of fanfiction and I'm sure I still have a lot to learn.

And to the guest wondering about Ariana... you'll have to wait and see. I don't want to give anything away. =)


	14. Year 2 - Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **The Badger, The Eagle, The Lion, The Serpent**

"We were.. um.." Harry trailed off.

Remus turned his pale, drawn face over to Ernie and Sue who didn't have a proper answer either. Harry suddenly had a horrifying thought and raised his arms to protect the two behind him. He heard Sue whisper "Full moon…" and thought he would be in a bitter mood, even without the effects of the Erisian. Remus raised his eyebrow at the wariness shown by the young Gryffindor then frowned when he noticed again the two students standing behind Harry.

"You three… came here together?" Remus asked carefully.

"Yes." Harry fought the urge to reach for his wand. "Do you… have a problem with them?"

"No, I don't…" Remus said slowly. They stared at each other for a minute, "You know something about… this whole mess in the castle, don't you?"

"You noticed?" Sue gave a huge sigh of relief. "But how? Why aren't you-"

A voice nearby said, "I swear! They must have been Hogwarts students, I'm sure they came this way..."

Harry shared a panicked look with Ernie and Sue, "Remus, can we talk inside?"

The werewolf nodded and moved to let them pass, "But I'm not letting you out of my sight until you explain everything."

When they were in the tunnel, Remus tapped a brick and closed the secret opening again. There was a bright light from his wand as he turned to them, "I'll take you back to the castle, start talking. Now."

So they explained everything. Remus listened, while stopping them a few times to ask his own questions.

"So this will fix everything? Get rid of this… Erisian?" Remus was examining the key they had just repaired in the village.

Harry nodded. "We think it will. After.. after we convince a Slytherin to help us."

"But why isn't it affecting you?" Sue asked Remus.

"And why are you using a secret passageway out of the school?" Ernie added.

"Professor Dumbledore locked down the school a few weeks ago, no one to enter or exit the castle until he said otherwise. I… I needed to take a walk before… tonight." Remus sighed, looking very tired.

Sue suddenly gasped. "Did Professor Snape make you the Wolfsbane Potion?"

"Yes he did, don't worry." Remus said quickly.

It was something that Harry hadn't thought of until now, but considering Snape's attitude towards anyone who wasn't a Slytherin, it was surprising that the Potions master would brew anything for Remus. They walked in silence for a moment, before Harry hesitantly asked. "Weren't you in Gryffindor?"

Remus only ever really talked about two people from his school days and that was James Potter and Sirius Black, so Harry had always presumed that he was sorted into Gryffindor with his best friends. But thinking about it now, it was something that Remus had never actually said outright.

"No." Remus said shortly, the tone discouraging them from asking any more question. He sighed and his expression softened as he looked at them, "I was never sorted into a house. We're here."

They finally reached the end of the corridor and Remus told them to wait, while he made sure there was no one on the other side. He signalled at them and they squeezed through the small gap behind the statue of a very smug looking wizard and made their way back towards the fourth floor, where Hermione and Ron were waiting for them.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione stopped their whispering and looked up to see Fred and George walking into the Gryffindor common room, wheezing with laughter. A few people came up to them, concerned at the splashes of red covering their robes and hands.

"Don't worry! It's just paint!" they laughed.

Ron's look of horror melted into relief, "They look like they just murdered someone..."

The twins had a small crowd gathered around them and they started to dramatically re-enact whatever they had done to get covered in so much paint. Harry would have normally been quite curious to hear of their latest prank, but right now he and his friends were desperately trying to come up with a plan to get Malfoy, Crabbe or Goyle on their own. The direct approach, or the 'Gryffindor method' as Ernie and Sue had called it, of walking up to the gathering of Slytherins had failed rather spectacularly, resulting in Harry and Ron having to go to Madam Pomfrey to get a few nasty burns on their arms healed.

"Maybe we should convince the rest of our house to declare an all out war against the Slytherins?" Ron said bitterly, scratching his arms over his robes. "It might be easier to talk to them if the other Slytherins are too busy fighting off hexes."

Hermione bit her lips, "We... can't do that. People might seriously get hurt. But..."

The fact that Hermione was even remotely considering such a plan proved how desperate the situation was. People were excitedly talking about their Hogsmeade weekend, which was only a few days away.

"It's not 'might' Hermione, people will definitely get hurt if we go with that plan, but it'll be a lot worse if we don't find a way to talk to Malfoy or his cronies." Harry said, while trying not to scratch his arm. The burn paste Madam Pomfrey had provided was effective, but it really made his skin itch.

The portrait opened again and their head of house walked in and stood in the middle of the common room. Fred and George immediately fell silent as Professor McGonagall spoke, "I have been informed that someone has painted a Gryffindor Lion as well as a very unflattering depiction of Professor Snape in the corridor outside the Potions classroom. Does anybody know something about this?"

Fred and George went rather pale and they started to stutter an excuse before the Professor cut them off, "I see. I am sure it was someone from another house, perhaps even a Slytherin attempting to discredit one of our own."

She turned to leave but stopped just short of reaching the exit, she glanced at the twins covered in red paint and said, "The last piece of homework you two have handed in was… slightly better than usual. It is good to see you improving your studies, so I shall be awarding twenty points to Gryffindor."

As soon as she walked out of the room, a huge cheer erupted from the students and they all gathered around the twins. Harry, Ron and Hermione just sighed, this wasn't going to help them at all.

It was perhaps unsurprising that the relationship between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins had deteriorated the quickest. There were more duels, detentions and visits to the hospital wing from members of the two houses compared to the other two, and Harry could easily imagine one of these incidents escalating to a level where someone would come into the common room looking like the Weasley twins, except it wouldn't be paint they would be covered in.

* * *

Harry entered the hospital wing, which was surprisingly empty considering what went on in the halls these days. If anything, it proved once more the astounding skills of the school nurse. Four beds were currently occupied, a sixth year Hufflepuff who was jinxed by a seventh year Ravenclaw, and that same Ravenclaw who was jinxed several times over when the entire Huffflepuff house retaliated. The other two had the sleeping forms of two rather large second year students, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

As soon as Harry attempted to approach the two unconscious Slytherin boys, Madam Pomfrey was beside him in a flash, "Mr. Potter, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to speak to Malfoy." Harry said looking towards the blond haired boy sitting besides his two friends. Malfoy in turn was glaring at Harry, his hand clutching the wand inside his pocket with a spell ready on the tip of his tongue.

The school matron snorted in disbelief, "I somehow doubt that Mr. Potter. If you have no business here, please leave at once. I am not in a patient mood."

"I swear, I just want to talk to him. Please, it won't take long." Harry pleaded.

Madam Pomfrey narrowed her eyes and looked at Harry, "Alright, you have five minutes. If either one of you says so much as a single syllable of a single spell, I'll have you both in detention every weekend until the end of your school year. That includes your Quidditch games."

Harry nodded. She turned her head to Malfoy, who nodded reluctantly and moved his hand away from his wand. Madam Pomfrey turned away from them to check on the unconscious Ravenclaw boy but kept the two second years in her peripheral vision, ready to act at a moment's notice.

"How are they?" Harry walked towards the Slytherins, keeping some distance, but standing close enough that the nurse wouldn't overhear their conversation.

"How do you think they are, Potter?" Malfoy snarled.

Harry had seen what had happened to them since he spent the day following the three of them. They weren't directly targeted, but they were amongst a large group of Slytherin students who a few Gryffindors decided to attack. Malfoy and his friends decided to try and escape rather than fight back, but they ended up with the worst injuries when they fell down a flight of stairs, with Malfoy only escaping serious harm when he landed on his two friends instead of the stone floor. It had been horrible to watch, Harry almost thought the two boys might have died, but Professor Snape had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, immediately breaking up the fight and levitated them to the hospital wing. He later came and threatened several Gryffindor students that were there at the time, including Harry, with expulsion which in turn caused an argument between Snape and McGonagall. Harry was sure it would have turned into a full on duel between the two Hogwarts professors, had Remus not interfered and separated them.

"I'm sorry about what happened." Harry said. He wasn't as prejudiced against their house as someone like Ron was, Harry respected the headmaster too much for that, but Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were obnoxious, rude and generally unpleasant towards Harry and his friends from the moment they met on their first train to Hogwarts. Even so, the last thing Harry would ever want was to see any of the three students seriously injured or dead.

Malfoy just glared at him, his hand twitching towards his robe pockets and snapped, "What do you want Potter?"

Harry sighed. He was trying to at least be civil with the Slytherin, but if Malfoy was going to respond with such an attitude, it might be better to just get on with what he needed to tell him. It was already Thursday and he didn't know when he would have another chance to talk to Malfoy.

"You must have noticed everyone in the castle acting strange for the last few weeks." Harry said.

"It's how it was before Riddle came and changed all the rules. It's how it was meant to be." Malfoy sneered.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "So, you being chased and falling down a flight of stairs, your two friends breaking a load of bones, that's how it's meant to be?"

Malfoy blushed angrily and grimaced. "Just leave us alone, Potter."

"Haven't you noticed, this all started happened from the moment yo- the mirror broke?" Harry asked.

Malfoy frowned in confusion before his eyes widened. "In that room with the..the thing?"

"That's why everyone has been acting this way." Harry said, "It's called an Erisian..."

Harry explained what they had learned about the Erisian and the room, Malfoy's expression changing from disbelief to horror. By the end Malfoy was just muttering, "It isn't possible."

Madam Pomfrey suddenly appeared next to them and said, "It's been more than five minutes, Mr. Potter."

"Just a little longer, please. We still need to talk. We haven't been fighting or anything!" Harry begged.

Pomfrey turned to Malfoy and raised a questioning eyebrow. Harry held his breath, if Malfoy had him kicked out, he didn't know how else he would be able to convince him. Malfoy bit his lip and slowly said, "We won't fight."

She gave them a suspicious stare but left them alone again. Malfoy turned to Harry again and asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"We need a Slytherin, someone who was in the room when the Erisian escaped, to capture it again and get rid of it for good." Harry told him.

"You need my help, do you?" Malfoy sneered at Harry again.

Harry took a deep breath, calming the bubbling anger that he felt. "Look at your two friends, how long do you think you're going to last? I told you, the last time this happened on an island, everyone was killed and the whole place was practically erased off the face of the Earth. If we don't stop it, it could spread to the rest of Britain then Europe then who knows how far."

Malfoy paled and turned away from Harry, looking towards his two friends lying unconscious on the beds. "Fine. What do I need to do? When are we doing it?"

Harry couldn't suppress a sigh of relief, "We do it tonight, while everyone else is at the Great Hall."

* * *

"It's not working mu-. Granger." Draco Malfoy ignored the glares directed at him and tapped the wooden snake impatiently against his leg.

Harry sighed and turned to Hermione, who didn't seem affected by Malfoy's words at all. She looked frustrated and resigned, but also unsurprised that the spell that they just used hadn't worked. "Hermione, that's the third time we tried. Do you have any idea why it isn't working?"

"Yes I think I know..." she said quietly.

"Is it because of him?" Ernie asked, gesturing towards Malfoy.

Hermione shook her head feebly. "No."

"Well? You said it should be easy after getting the key fixed and someone from all the houses?" Ron said impatiently.

"I said getting rid of the Erisian would be easy, but before we can do that we need to trap it in the mirror again." Hermione said.

"So what's the problem?" Sue asked, nervously turning the Ravenclaw eagle over in her hands.

"The problem is that it's a very long and complex spell and the memory of it is incomplete." Hermione quickly looked at Ron then turned away. "It was meant to go to one person, but because it went through Ron and then me, it was divided between the two of us."

Ron stared, "Are you saying it's my fault?"

"No! No, not at all!" Hermione said quickly. "We had no idea what it was but you tried to protect me from it. I'm really grateful for what you did..."

Harry saw Malfoy roll his eyes and what came next would no doubt be a rude comment, so Harry quickly opened his mouth, "So can't you do what you've been doing so far? You writing it down and Ron translating it?"

"It won't work, because you need more than the incantation to be able to use a spell." Hermione explained. "None of us here could open up a seventh year text book and use a spell even though the incantation would be written there. We would need to understand the theory behind the spell, the exact intention with it should be cast, the minute details behind the choosing of the wording of the spell, which is even more difficult because it's not even in the usual Latin..."

Sue was the only one who nodded with a vague understanding of Hermione's words.

"But… if Ravenclaw left instructions on how to trap the Erisian back in the mirror, wouldn't all the things you just said be part of the memory?" Harry asked.

Hermione sighed in frustration. "Why do you think we've been spending weeks trying to squeeze out memories? If everything had happened as Ravenclaw intended, one person would have received the memories and would have instantly known all the information we've been struggling to gather all this time. It's frustrating! I feel like I know how to use the spell, I even feel like I've used it before. But then I feel an emptiness, like a part of me was torn away… and I know however much I try, I'll never be able to use the spell."

They all stared at Hermione in silence. Ernie asked quietly, "Then that's it? We've failed?"

Hermione didn't respond. Ron frowned slightly and slid the memory charm bracelet off his wrist. He closed his eyes and mumbled slightly.

"Hermione." Ron opened his eyes and put the bracelet back on. "What you just said, about feeling empty, I've heard someone say that before, when they couldn't use magic."

"Who?" Hermione asked, still looking dejected.

"Gideon. I overheard him talking to my dad, about his little bottle thing. He couldn't use the simplest of spells because he felt something missing inside." Ron said.

A glimmer of hope entered Hermione's eyes. "Do you think…?"

"If we send an owl right now, we might be able to get it before Saturday." Harry said excitedly.

Ron shook his head. "He would never take it off unless he had a very good reason and if we told him the real reason, he's just going to think it's a practical joke."

"We have to try though!" Hermione almost shouted.

"I never said we wouldn't try. Just saying we should try to find one closer." Ron had a knowing glint in his eye.

Hermione's mouth dropped open at the sheer smugness of the red haired boy. Her face flushed red in anger and she reached out, as if trying to strangle him with her mind. Ernie held on to the back of Hermione's robes and said, "Ron, if you know something, just spit it out. Or I won't stop her when she tries to jinx you."

Ron just grinned back. "I've seen one in Hogwarts."

"Where?" they all said at once.

"Filch." Ron said gleefully. "When he gave me the detention before we found the room. I noticed him playing around with it when he had me scrubbing the floors of the Potions classroom."

"Are you sure it was a Affirmare Charm?" Hermione asked, wide eyed.

"I think so?" Ron seemed less sure. "It looked similar to the one Gideon had, that's why I remember it. And Filch really isn't a very good wizard is he?"

"He's not just a terrible wizard, he's a squib." They all turned towards Malfoy, who had spoken. "My father told me."

"A squib!" Ron shouted with delight, "That's even better! Remember what Gideon said about the bottle he wasn't allowed to keep?

"Alright. So how are we going to get it? From what you're saying, it seems like he would never part with it willingly." Ernie asked the room.

"Then we'll just have to take it from him." Sue nodded with resolve.

"At night? When he's asleep?" Harry suggested.

"With him and his cat, I don't think we'll be able to catch him by surprise." Ron said. "We'll need a distraction..."

Ron leaned over and whispered something into Hermione's ear. She whispered something back then they both looked at Malfoy. The Slytherin tensed as she opened her bag and pulled something out.

"Alright." Hermione kneeled onto the floor and unfolded a large piece of parchment. It was the map they had started to make last year.

Everyone sat down on the floor, surrounding the map, apart from Malfoy who remained standing, but leaned over to look, "A map of Hogwarts?"

"Yes it is." Hermione said flatly. "Now we nee-"

"Where does that passage lead to?" Malfoy was pointing at the secret exit leading towards Hogsmeade.

"None of your business." Ron snapped. "Right now we need to work out how to get Filch's bottle."

Malfoy looked annoyed but kept his mouth shut. Harry asked, "Does anybody know where Filch actually lives in the castle?"

Everybody shook their heads. Ron was slowly tracing his finger down a corridor on the map, "I think it'll be easier to take it off him if there are a lot of people around."

"Are you thinking of starting a fight between the houses and hoping Filch is caught in the middle of it?" Ernie asked carefully.

Ron nodded. "If anyone sees us attacking him, with the state the professors are currently in, we'll be expelled if we're lucky. If we get it then come straight back here… The spell shouldn't take long right?"

"It should be quick, if the bottle actually works." Hermione said.

"Hmm… if we… argh." Ron scratched his head in frustration then took off the Memory Charmed bracelet. He blinked a couple of times then his eyes seemed to lose focus slightly, his hands wandered over a map until he paused and pointed at a corridor on the fifth floor. "This is a good spot."

The corridor was one of the less used ones and there were also a few secret passageways that they could use to get away in a hurry.

"We also need to make sure the professors don't come too quickly." Sue pointed out. "The heads of houses especially seem to have a sixth sense for any trouble concerning their students."

"I'll handle Professor McGonagall. Sue, Ernie and Malfoy will have to handle their own heads of houses." Hermione said.

"What do you mean, 'handle'?" Malfoy asked sharply.

"Slow him down somehow." Ron snorted and Harry sniggered as well. The thought of having to distract Snape was horrible, but Malfoy having to do it seemed to make it funny.

They spent another half an hour refining the plan, mostly from inputs by Ron, before deciding to return to their common rooms. They couldn't risk being caught out after curfew and getting into a detention tomorrow. They promised to meet before classes the next day and left the secret room. When Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to the common room, they sat down on a table in the corner away from everyone else. Harry quickly popped into the dormitories to bring down some cake leftover from a visit to Hagrid a few days ago. They had gone to talk to Remus, but he wasn't there and they had to endure a very aggressive Hagrid, who wouldn't let them leave until Harry promised to absolutely pummel Ravenclaw in their upcoming Quidditch match. He also gave him a large cake, telling him he needed to keep his strength up.

"Thanks Harry!" Ron took a slice and stuffed it into his mouth, crumbs dropping onto the map they had opened on the table. Hermione frowned as she ate with a little more restraint, but didn't say anything. Harry swallowed a mouthful, then asked them, "Is there anything else we need to think about?"

Ron brushed the crumbs off the map, "Not really. I just wish there was some way we could communicate with each other while we go through with the plan. We need to make sure the professors are all occupied, before we make our move for the bottle."

"Don't wizards have telephones or something?" Harry asked.

"What are telephones?" Ron mumbled through another mouthful of cake.

Hermione giggled. "Does that answer your question? Well owls are the most common methods of communication..."

"But that wont really help us tomorrow." Harry sighed. "Isn't there a spell or something?"

"I'm not sure, I've think I heard my dad mention that they enchant the messages in the Ministry to fly between departments, but I have no idea how they do that." Ron shrugged and turned to ask Hermione.

"I can't remember reading anything like that in our textbooks. Although..." Hermione looked thoughtful.

"What?" Harry and Ron both asked.

"There is a spell called the Protean Charm, it links several objects together to mimic each other. If we charmed a few sheets of parchment we could send messages to each other..." Hermione trailed off.

"That's brilliant!" Harry exclaimed.

"The only problem is..." Hermione sighed. "It's a N.E.W.T. level spell.

They were silent for a moment then Ron asked weakly, "Are you already reading seventh year textbooks?"

"Sixth year actually." Hermione blushed. "I just wanted to know what kind of spells we would learn in the future..."

"So you're saying you can't use this… Protean Charm?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head, looking disappointed with herself. "I've tried a few N.E.W.T level spells, but I couldn't get any to work. I don't think the Protean Charm would be any different."

"Why did you get our hopes up?" Ron moaned, leaning back against his chair.

"Wait..." Harry grinned at his two friends. "We might not have any N.E.W.T.s, but we know where we can find some snakes!"

Ron and Hermione both looked at Harry as if he'd just sprouted horns on the top of his head. "Are you feeling alright Harry?"

"Snakes? The only snakes are..." Hermione suddenly looked excited. "You don't think? Will it work?"

"For me at least." Harry said quickly. "Everyone else just needs to be in position and tell me when they're ready."

"What are you talking about?" Ron looked annoyed at his two friends. "We haven't seen any snakes since..."

Ron's eyes widened as Harry and Hermione grinned at him. They all said at once, "Legion!"

* * *

Malfoy had an expression of incredulity as he looked at the snake Harry was holding and trying to hand over to the Slytherin boy. "You..you're a..a Parselmouth?"

"For the third time, Yes!" Harry rolled his eyes.

"You. Harry Potter. A _Gryffindor_. A Parselmouth?"

"Yes! Now take the snake." Harry didn't give Malfoy time to respond again and pushed the hissing snake onto him, forcing him to take it in his arms. "And no, he won't bite you."

The Slytherin boy blushed angrily, "I wasn't going to as-"

Harry ignored him and turned away. "Alright, so is everyone clear about the plan?"

They all nodded, tentatively stroking the snake they each had coiled around their arms. Ron was the only one without a snake, but he didn't seem to be disappointed about being left out of this part. "Alright, I managed to convince Fred and George that the Slytherins are planning something on the fifth floor during lunch. Malfoy?"

"The Slytherins will be there, planning revenge for the painting outside of the Potions classroom." Malfoy said, not taking his eyes off his snake.

"Sue?"

"Filch overheard me talking about Peeves' plan to set off a load of dungbombs there." Sue said confidently. "He'll be there."

"And I convinced the Poltergeist that he'd regret it forever if he missed what was happening." Ernie said with a grin.

"Alright Harry, can you just double check Legion now?" Ron asked.

Harry turned around to face the wall, raising his arms so the snake was close to his face. It was quiet for a moment then he hissed something at Harry. "That was Ernie."

At the crack of dawn Harry went down the passageway towards the Chamber of Secrets with Ron and Hermione, he could hear that the mass of snakes were already quite agitated. They had no idea what was happening, but they could tell that there was something evil wandering the school.

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yep." she replied.

Harry told Legion what had happened and asked the serpents if they could help. The snakes hissed amongst themselves arguing and discussing the possibility of leaving the Chamber and entering the school, Hermione and Ron sharing frightened looks as they saw the serpents becoming agitated without being able to understand what they were saying. In the end, they decided that some of them could leave for a few hours, saying that Harry Potter could be trusted.

Legion hissed again, " _Ravenclaw has signalled_."

"It was Sue this time." Harry told the room.

They couldn't send messages to each other, since Harry was the only one who could understand them, but the snake could tell Harry when the others were all in position and ready to carry out the plan.

Harry waited for another minute but Legion remained silent. " _Is Mal- Slytherin not signalling?_ "

" _No._ " Legion replied simply.

"Malfoy?" Harry turned around with an annoyed expression and saw Malfoy staring at him in disbelief. "Yes I'm a Parselmouth. Can we get on with it now?"

Malfoy shook his head and slid a finger down the snake he was holding and in the same instant Legion hissed into Harry's ear, " _Slytherin._ "

Harry nodded at everyone, "It works."

"Good." Hermione said. "We need to get going or we'll be late for class. The plan starts the moment everyone breaks for lunch. Good luck."

* * *

As soon as Professor Flitwick dismissed the class, Harry stood up, stuffing his textbook into his bag and ran out of the room, just pausing to turn and look at Malfoy giving him a small nod. On his way to the fifth floor, Legion hissed " _Gryffindor_ " which way barely audible over the students leaving their classrooms and he ran into Sue, who didn't make eye contact, but they whispered "Good luck." to each other while passing. He got there just as Ron did, both of them out of breath.

"Hermione's staying with McGonagall." Ron panted, "Asking about what classes she can take next year. Ernie's going to the greenhouses and-"

"Sue's going to Flitwick, I ran into her on my way from Charms." Harry finished. Legion hissed at him once more. "She just got there."

They hid behind a statue of a witch riding a winged horse, just in time before the corridor began filling with students.

"Those idiots!" Ron said angrily, watching the large group of Gryffindors coming forward. "They brought Ginny!"

The youngest Weasley was indeed standing between Fred and George, as well as a few more first years, including Colin Creevey, his camera starting to flash already. The Slytherins arrived from the other side of the corridor, stopping in their tracks when they saw the Gryffindors. Filch ran forwards stopping in between them, wheezing and brandishing his wand at both groups of students, threatening them with detentions, and worse, if they started casting spells in the corridors.

"Ernie is with Professor Sprout and Malfoy with Snape." Harry whispered Legion's message to Ron, just as a cackling Peeves floated past the Gryffindors stopping right above where Filch was standing.

Ron gulped and Harry took a deep breath before taking out the birthday present he received from Sirius earlier this year. The two Gryffindor boys gave each other a small nod before taking in the scene before them, a single spark was going to start something huge. Harry hoped no one would get hurt too much and slowly pulled the string on the party popper.

The massive bang echoed in the corridor which was quickly replaced by utter silence. Then there was a huge roar from the two groups of students and spells started flying through the air. Peeves started gleefully throwing what looked like handfuls of old custard, Filch being one of the first casualties. By the time the caretaker threw himself onto the floor, he was covered in the effects of the various curses, hexes and jinxes that were thrown in his direction and barely able to open his eyes because of the yellow gloop on his face. The students collided in the middle when several of them decided that they could do more damage with their fists than their wands.

Harry and Ron crawled out of their hiding place, completely unnoticed by anyone amongst the duelling students and Peeves madly throwing things everywhere, and dragged Filch by the foot towards them. Ignoring the caretaker's feeble protests, Harry carefully grabbed the little black bottle and pulled it over his head. Harry closed his eyes gripping it tightly in his hand trying to feel something. He felt a jolt and his anxiousness was replaced by a sort of restless energy.

"So _this_ is what Gideon was talking about… Ron this is amazing." Harry muttered towards his friend. "Hey, Ron!"

"What?" Ron tore his eyes away from the sight of his siblings. Fred and George were protecting Ginny from most of the spells, while she peeked around them fiercely casting one when she could.

"This is amazing! Malfoy was right, Filch is a squib!" Harry's heart pounded. "We can do it! We can get rid of the Erisian!"

Ron held his hand out and Harry hesitated, Ron eventually prised it off him. "Sweet Merlin, you're right… This _is_ amazing..."

Harry shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He suddenly realised they had been wasting precious seconds holding the bottle. "We need to get back to the room."

He took it off Ron's hand, and put it into his friend's pocket, where it wouldn't affect him. They went to the back of the statue, ducking under the horse's tail and climbed through a small opening, which led them towards the stairs. Harry hissed at Legion, telling him to signal to the others to meet them in the mirror room.

"Harry!" Remus was at the stairway walking towards him. "Did it work?"

"Yes! We have it. You need to go, make sure no one gets seriously injured." Harry urged Remus towards the skirmish they had left behind.

When the gamekeeper's footsteps died down, there was a shout behind them as a very angry looking Head Girl made her way down the stairs her wand pointed at them.

"I knew you were up to something!" Sammy cried out, sparks flying out of her wand. "I'll see to it that you're both expelled! _Incarcerous!_ "

Ropes shot out of her wand and barely missed Harry and Ron as them flung themselves sideways.

" _Petrif-_ " Harry began, but with a flourish of her wand the ropes turned around in mid air and flew back wrapping themselves around Harry's throat. He dropped his wand and grabbed it with both hands, trying to stop the rope from suffocating him.

" _Incendio!_ " Ron shouted, but the spell was easily deflected. " _Petrificus Tot-_ "

She whipped her wand around again, and the second rope she had conjured wrapped around Ron's leg and pulled, causing him to collapse onto the floor. He tried to turn around and aimed his wand at his attacker, but every spell he shot her way was easily deflected. They were only two second year students, up against Sammy Omiata, seventh year, Head Girl and Hogwarts' Champion for the Triwizard Tournament.

As she slowly approached Ron, Harry lowered his head and charged her. She stumbled as Harry crashed into her side and as they fell he choked out, "Do something Ron!"

Ron raised his wand, his spare hand wandering into his pocket and tightening around Filch's bottle, " _F..fríeseþ."_

A blue flash of light shot out of his wand and before she could react, it hit the Head Girl in the chest. She was pushed back a few feet and collapsed onto the floor, completely still.

The ropes around Harry's neck loosened in an instant and he quickly ran over to the Ravenclaw girl, "W..what..what did you do?"

"I..." Ron was beside him in an instant. "I..I don't know."

Harry moved his hand until it was almost touching her face, "She's still breathing… We.. we need to get going..."

They lifted her up and dragged her into an empty classroom, deciding it might not be safe to leave her out in the corridor. They could hear the sounds of angry shouting coming from all around the school, the fight that they had started already spread throughout Hogwarts.

They ran up the stairs and into the room, they saw that Hermione and Sue were both already there, gasping for breath while looking anxious.

"Did you get it?" Hermione asked with a desperate look on her face.

Ron lifted it up, dangling it by the string, showing her their prize. "You said we can start now?"

"Yes. Ron get over here." Hermione took the bottle and examined it for a moment, a look of surprised and joy coming into her eyes, before nodding. She placed it in her left hand and raised it towards Ron, who held her tightly, the bottle between the palms of their hands. Hermione then took out a piece of parchment from her robes and unfolded it with her remaining hand and took a deep breath.

" _Byreas of fréode, samnaþ hér…_ " Ron had his eyes closed and was speaking with no hesitation, all from memory, while Hermione was reading off the piece of parchment she held in her hand, both speaking in perfect unison. Harry listened to their soft spoken, song like spell and felt goosebumps on his arms and shivered as the air surrounding them seemed to shimmer with magic.

"… _friþáþ be feore of brōþorhāde…_ " Hermione's shoulder flinched slightly as Ernie and Malfoy stumbled into the room, but she gripped Ron's hand tighter and continued the incantation.

"Are you okay?" Harry whispered as he ran over to the two boys.

"We're fine." Ernie said back quietly, but Harry could tell that they weren't. Ernie was leaning against Malfoy's shoulder and had limped into the room, while Malfoy had a cut on the back of his head and blood was dripping down his neck. With an anxious squeal Sue took Ernie's arm held him steady on his feet.

"How bad is it?" Harry asked with a shiver.

Malfoy's hand was gripping his wand and shaking as he replied breathlessly, "If we don't stop this _now_ , people are going to die."

Hermione dropped the piece of parchment and pulled the key out of her pocket and raised it towards the mirror, " _…_ _náhtætwist beswicfallan innan sunscíne carcærnes._ "

The key levitated off the palm of her hand and flew towards the mirror and passed the reflective glass with a slight ripple of the surface. There was a crash behind them as the portal separating the secret room from the rest of the school opened completely, revealing the corridor beyond.

Their robes started fluttering around them as a powerful, cold wind started blowing into the room. Ron and Hermione seemed to be unaffected, but the others were struggling to stay on their feet, eventually kneeling and trying to keep a grip on the floor. There was a sudden horrible high pitched screech coming from the outside as the winds grew even stronger, trying to drag them towards the mirror.

A small trail of black smoke entered the room and was being sucked into the mirror. Sweat started beading on his head as the room became blazing hot, making it difficult to think clearly. Harry, Malfoy, Ernie and Sue were all shouting but were drowned out by the unearthly noise the Erisian was making, as it was trapped once more in it's prison. There was a final shriek of anger then the sound of a lock being clicked shut, as the key that had disappeared into the glass, grew out of the frame and appeared once more above the mirror.

"It.. is it.. done?" Sue asked tentatively as she helped Ernie stand up.

"It's been captured." Hermione walked up to the mirror and watched the Erisian uselessly slam itself into the surface of the mirror.

Harry got to his feet and hesitated a moment before offering Malfoy a hand, who ignored him and stood up by himself. He rolled his eyes and walked over to his Gryffindor friends. "Now to get rid of it once and for all."

Harry, Sue, Ernie and Malfoy stepped in front of the mirror, each holding the animal symbolising their own house and took a deep breath.

"Once fractured, together we stand..." they intoned.

"...against unrelenting enemies..." Harry felt a warmth, as he held the lion glowing red.

"...with unceasing ferocity..." Malfoy put forth, green light issuing from the wooden serpent in his hands.

"...wielding knowledge unending..." Sue recited, the blue glimmering eagle held reverently over her head.

"...Hogwarts stands, unwavering." Ernie declared, clutching the badger close to his heart, as it shined yellow.

The Erisian in the prison seemed to understand what was happening and redoubled it's efforts to escape once more, making the mirror rattle against the wall, but a faint iridescent glow enveloped the surface and it stopped moving, holding firm. The light from the animals increased as well, enveloping them all in a feeling of warmth.

"Once fractured, together we stand, facing the past, unflinching." they said, and Harry's voice cracked as emotion surged within him, feeling a part of something greater than himself. He turned slightly and saw that Sue was blinking rapidly and Ernie had tears streaming down his face. Even Malfoy was biting the corner of his lip, a tremor in his shoulders.

"Side by side, united, let our intention be known. Spirit of Discord, begone!"

The lion, the serpent, the eagle and the badger creaked as they came to life, jumping off the hands that held them and sped into the mirror, disappearing in a violent ripple. The Erisian was writhing in panic, the black smoke starting to dissipate in the bright colours of Hogwarts' magic, finally shifting into a face frozen in a twisted and silent scream, before it was gone. They watched as the surface of the mirror started to darken, then they realised that the glass was being transfigured into wood. It also shrunk slightly and changed it's shape until it looked like a shield. The Hogwarts crest, showing four animals, showing the four houses that had united today and triumphed over darkness.

Harry fell to his knees, the sudden tiredness from the sleepless nights they endured for the past week catching up to him. Ron and Hermione was by his side in an instant and he looked up at them with a smile on his lips, "It worked."

They smiled back, only able to nod in response. Sue was holding Ernie a tight embrace and Malfoy was rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his robes. It was all over.

"It is done." Hermione suddenly went rigid, eyes unfocused and speaking in a monotone. "The Erisian is vanquished."

"Hermione?" Harry whispered, standing up.

"Hogwarts will always give aid to those willing to stand and protect our own. You need only ask and Hogwarts will provide. Hogwarts will always provide." Hermione gave a shudder and a fine silvery white mist rose from her body, coalescing in the centre of the room into a pale transparent spirit of a witch. She gave a small nod to each of them in turn then vanished into thin air.

* * *

The next few weeks were very peaceful. Students walked the halls looking embarrassed, muttering apologies when they passed their friends from the other houses. Anthony and Justin were among the first to come up to Harry, when they met in the corridor while Harry and Ron were helping Ernie up to see Madam Pomfrey. They seemed to be able to remember everything that had happened, but seemed really confused as to why they had acted that way. Harry told them not to worry, promising to tell them everything soon.

They opened the doors to the hospital wing, coming face to face with Madam Pomfrey, who was apoplectic with rage, telling them to wait if it wasn't life threatening. The room was packed full of students, most of them sporting small cuts and bruises and a few dealing with the effects of minor jinxes and hexes. They couldn't help but laugh quietly seeing students with antlers, tentacles and one was swatting away what was unmistakably the result of Ginny's Bat Bogey Hex. There were a few members of staff as well, looking ruffled but mostly unhurt, helping Madam Pomfrey deal with the deluge of patients.

The nurse was seeing to the cut on Malfoy's head, he had left the mirror room before everyone else without saying a word. Professor Sprout, who had just finished dealing with a girl who had miraculously made her way to the hospital wing despite her feet seemingly in a state of perpetual dance, walked over to help Ernie. Thankfully, the young Hufflepuff only had a sprained ankle, that the Professor took care of at once.

They had told a few close friends the truth of what had happened, but rumours soon spread like wildfire. People whispered when any of the six students walked passed and professors found excuses to award them house points, although really by now there was little point, since they had been giving and taking away points the last few months in such a biased manner. Even so, none of the teachers openly brought up the event, until a week later, when they were called into the Headmaster's office.

Professor Riddle looked like he himself had just arrived, he had a short and scruffy beard, instead of his normally clean shaven face, and he was still wearing wrinkled travelling robes.

"I hear you've been very busy this term." he looked extremely tired but still managed to give them a warm smile. He waved his wand, creating six chairs in front of his desk. "Why don't you sit down and tell me about it."

As they sat down, Harry's initial feeling of pride melted into worry despite the Professor's kind tone of voice. They had kept their mouths shut about the their part in starting the whole mess in the first place, Malfoy especially, having been the one that cast the spell causing the mirror to break, went very pale.

A soft chuckling came from behind them, as Professor Dumbledore entered the room. "You are not in any trouble. From what I remember you telling me, it seems that this was a trial the school would eventually have to overcome at some point. We are just curious to know the little details."

They looked at each other for a moment, then started talking all at once, not leaving out a single detail. Starting from the fact that they had unleashed the Erisian by breaking the mirror, to completing the ritual that locked and banished the creature from the school. Hermione even told the professors, amidst groans from Harry, Sue and Ernie, that they had to leave the school using a secret passageway in order to get the key fixed.

"Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant." Professor Riddle was grinning openly at them, seemingly untroubled by the hundred and one rules that they had just admitted to breaking.

Professor Dumbledore nodded in agreement, with a twinkle in his eyes. "A very resourceful group of students, indeed."

They asked a few more questions and when there was a slight lull in the conversation, Harry said hesitantly "We tried to contact you, Professor Riddle… We sent an owl, but she couldn't seem to find you."

Riddle's expression sobered up very quickly, "Yes. I was tied up in Europe. But… perhaps it was a good thing I wasn't here when this happened. There is no telling how I would have reacted…"

He trailed off, slightly lost in thought. Harry coughed and asked slowly, "Did you find anything… In Europe, sir?"

Harry's friends all tensed around him, Malfoy just looked confused. Riddle looked at Dumbledore with a raised eyebrow, who only replied with a shrug and a bemused expression.

Professor Riddle looked at the six students sitting in front of him and gave them a small smile, "I have... made a few discoveries, yes."

Harry and the others waited for more, but he didn't say anything else on the matter. "I would award you all house points, but it has been decided that the House Cup will not be awarded this year. This year belongs to all of the four, I'm sure you agree. Well then, lunch should be served soon. Why don't you go down to the Hall."

The rest of the year went on peacefully, so peacefully that the school witnessed two of the strangest Quidditch matches Hogwarts had ever seen. The normally ruthless Slytherin team were slightly less violent towards the Hufflepuffs and during Gryffindor's match, even Wood's zeal seemed to have waned a little and the Weasley twins couldn't stop themselves from shouting a warning before then sent Bludgers towards their unfortunate targets. Harry caught the Snitch without much trouble and Gryffindor's victory was met with polite cheers from everyone watching the match, even the Ravenclaws they had been playing against.

But by May things were pretty much back to normal. During Harry's match against Slytherin, there was cheering and booing from the stands, Bludgers and green robes players flying towards the young Gryffindor Seeker in an attempt to knock him off his broom and of course, Draco Malfoy sneering and sending insults his way.

In the classrooms, Malfoy still acted as obnoxious as ever, but other than that they pretty much ignored one another. Despite all that had happened, it seemed very unlikely that they would ever become anything close to friends in this lifetime. Still, Harry no longer felt the need to watch his back in case of an ambush from them, so it was better than nothing.

Exams came and went, with Hermione organising a revision schedule for all of them, and Harry spent most of his free time in an empty classroom with a dozen other second years, from all the different houses (even Slytherins), all determined to help each other pass the upcoming exams. They all passed with flying colours.

* * *

"This was a year in which the bonds between the four houses were tested to the limit." Professor Riddle stood up and addressed the Great Hall. The decorations for the end of year feast was normally done in the colours of the house that had earned the most points throughout the year and won the House Cup. However, this year it was decorated in the colours and crests of all four houses. "The Four Founders..."

He spoke of the fight between the founders and what the rift had created. He told the students what had wandered Hogwarts' halls during this winter. Finally he spoke the names of each of the six students that had been present during the banishing.

"… and finally, Harry Potter." Harry turning the same shade of red as Ron and Hermione as their names were spoken and everyone turned to look at them. "These six helped rid the school of this creature, showing bravery and ingenuity far beyond their years. Even more so, they showed true loyalty to this school, true loyalty to every single person here, regardless of the houses that divide us. They proved their willingness to work together and see the school whole again. For that, I thank you."

Everyone joined the Headmaster in their applause towards them and Harry blushed even further. After a few more words from Professor Riddle, the food appeared in front of them and they started to dig in.

"Thank Merlin he didn't mention how we started the whole thing," Ron whispered to Harry and Hermione, after swallowing a mouthful of food. "if that ever got out, mum would probably skin me alive."

Hermione laughed, "Well, I'm sure she's proud of you. The owl she sent you said as much."

Ron shrugged, tugging nervously at his bracelet. "As long as she doesn't ask too many questions. She can spot a lie a mile away..."

"We won't rat you out." Harry grinned.

"My parents definitely have loads of questions..." Hermione sighed. "I almost wish the Headmaster hadn't send those letters out to everyone's families."

"Why? We fixed everything and no one got hu- no one died." Harry said.

Ron snorted at the pause and even Hermione cracked a smile, "It's just that… I don't want them to think Hogwarts is a dangerous place."

"Hogwarts? Dangerous?" Ron sniggered. "It was only an evil spirit trying to make us all kill each other. And I can barely remember the dark wizard that managed to break into the school last year."

"You know..." Harry said, once he stopped laughing. "I'm almost looking forward to having a quiet summer without magic. Almost."

 **End of Year 2**

* * *

The owl flew across the night, suddenly feeling a chill underneath her feathers. She was clutching a rolled up piece of parchment and the name written upon it had led her here. It was an abandoned shack, deep in a forest. She hesitated only for a moment before flying through a broken window, the shattered glass littering the floor. The owl landed on a desk, cluttered with a variety of dusty knick-knacks the occupants decided not to take when they left their home.

She looked around warily, searching for the person the letter was to be delivered to. There was a shuffling of movement and she turned her head just in time to see what she thought was a bundle of old rags rise up and rapidly move towards her. She opened her wings in fright, but before she could take off, an arm shot out grabbing her, instantly breaking one of her wings and long yellowed nails digging into her body.

The man ignored the bird as she tried to desperately tear into the man's hand with her beak. He snatched the parchment from the owl's talons, and unrolled it using his knife-like teeth.

 _Riddle is becoming more of a problem than anticipated, he must be dealt with. Meet me at the usual location…_

The man's eyes quickly moved down the letter, reading the rest of the message. At the bottom of the parchment, there was a symbol. A black crow. He tore it in half using his teeth and it burst into black flames, leaving no trace of the parchment, not even ashes. He looked down at the owl, she was barely still alive, hooting feebly but still trying to peck the hand that held her.

He breathed in deeply and slowly tightened his grip, causing the bird to panic again. The sound of cracking bones were barely audible over the screeching of the struggling bird, then with a final snap the head of the owl lolled uselessly to the side. The man threw the dead animal into a corner and licked his hand, savouring the taste of the owl's blood and his own.

* * *

 **A/N**

OH DEAR, that took a while didn't it? December's been quite hectic and I haven't been able to find the time to sit down and write. I don't think I'll be able to find the time to write much until the new year so I won't be updating for a while. I'm also planning to write a bit in advance so I can update more regularly, so I'll start posting the next chapter either late January or even February depending on how fast I can get the next few chapters done.

And once again, thank you to those who followed and favourited, it's always heartening to see numbers go up.

Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoy your holidays! =)


	15. Year 3 - Chapter 1

**Year 3**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Bottling Your Emotions**

The door the four Privet Drive slammed open with a crash and Harry James Potter stepped out, dragging his school trunk in one hand and holding up an empty cage for his pet owl Hedwig in the other. His face twisted in a furious scowl as he remembered the words Marge Dursely had said about his parents, his mother in particular. The woman was now floating against the dining room ceiling, looking like a giant balloon.

"GET BACK HERE BOY! YOU COME BACK AND FIX HER RIGHT THIS MINUTE!" Harry's uncle Vernon stepped towards the front door, red faced and arms waving in anger with Ripper, Marge Dursley's dog, latched firmly onto his leg. "GET BACK HERE OR I SWEAR I'L- OOW!"

The door slammed shut again, right into Uncle Vernon's face, completely by itself, without anyone having laid a single finger on it. Another bout of accidental magic. There was more shouting from inside the house and the door rattled as the enraged man tried to open it with no success. Harry looked back once before he closed his eyes and swore out loud for the first time in his life.

Harry shuddered a breath as he tried to calm himself down. He didn't have a problem with swearing, but he'd grown up knowing that kind of language could get him in trouble with his relatives, but right now he was too angry to care. He let out a hysteric giggle as he imagined what his friends would say if they heard him. Hermione and Ernie would probably give him a disapproving frown while Ron and Sue would try to suppress a bit of laughter at his uncharacteristic cursing.

At the thought of his friends, his anger melted into worry as he remembered the situation he was in. As a student, magic was strictly forbidden to him outside of school and not only had he just used magic several times in the last few minutes, he had used it against a Muggle, actually causing her harm. Harry wondered if anyone would believe him, that the whole thing had been an accident, or would they expel him from Hogwarts and snap his wand in two?

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and took a step forwards. Whatever happened to him, he didn't want it to happen in front of the Dursleys. After three steps he stopped again, realising that he had no idea where to go. He couldn't go to Ron's place like he did last summer, they were on a trip to Egypt right now, and he had no idea where any of his other friends lived. He suddenly thought of Christmas last year, when Ron's Uncle Gideon had stayed over at the Burrow to look after the Weasley children. The letters his friend had been sending him didn't mention his uncle, so maybe he would be looking after the house until they returned? Harry knew he was grasping at straws, but he had no where else to turn. He started walking again towards the street, thanking Mrs. Weasley in his thoughts for telling him about the Knight Bus last summer.

Harry stood at the edge of the pavement and opened his trunk, shuffling the contents so he could find his wand. He had kept it hidden away from view on purpose partially in case his cousin or uncle saw it and broke it out of spite, but also because he didn't want the temptation so close at hand. He slowly pulled out a bundle of his school robes, taking care not to damage the wand that was wrapped tightly inside.

There was the sound of rapid footsteps and he turned back to the house, but the door was still firmly shut. He glanced around the dark street trying to find the source of the noise while trying to untie the knot and his mind wandered from Ministry wizards to a much darker place, Grindelwald and his followers. Dark wizards and witches that had murdered his parents and who were now out for his blood. He started panicking and his fingers fumbled over the cloth and out of the corner of his eyes he saw someone step out of the shadows and into the street light.

With a sharp intake of breath he dropped the bundle and picked up Hedwig's cage and raised it over his shoulders, ready to throw if it proved to be an enemy. The figure walked quickly towards Harry until he was close enough for the boy to recognise.

"Major Ch… Chilmead?" Harry quickly lowered the cage and hid it behind him, he also quickly snapped shut his trunk, he was already in enough trouble without him revealing the existence of the wizarding world to a Muggle. As his neighbour and long time babysitter stepped forwards, Harry noticed in surprise that the Major seemed to be considerably more alert than usual.

"Harry! What's happened? Are you hurt?" the old man's normally slow voice came quickly, eyes darting around for any signs of trouble.

Harry bit his lip in frustration, not knowing how to explain the situation. He looked like he was running away from home and if they went back the Major would see what he'd done to his Aunt Marge. "Erm… I… I was..."

"I detected someone using magic in the house, were you attacked?" Major Chilmead asked briskly.

Harry's mouth dropped open while the Major stared at him waiting for a reply. "How… what…?"

Chilmead gave a grunt of impatience, "I know you have questions Harry, but right now I need to know what happened!"

"Right… Okay. I… erm… I blew up my aunt." Harry mumbled, avoiding the Major's eyes.

Chilmead's eyes widened in shock, "You killed Petunia?"

"NO!" Harry said quickly. "Not Aunt Petunia. Aunt Marge, my uncle's sister. And I didn't kill her, she just… blew up like a balloon, she was floating in the air last I saw her."

"With your wand?" Chilmead sighed in relief.

"No, I didn't mean to, I swear! She started saying all these things about my parents and…" Harry trailed off looking away, angry tears stinging his eyes.

"Alright. Come on, we'll need to deal with this." with that he picked up Harry's trunk with surprising ease and walked quickly down the street. Harry quickly followed, holding onto Hedwig's cage.

"Who are you and how do you know about magic?" Harry huffed as they quickened their pace. "Are you a wizard?"

"Not right now Harry." the Major said quietly but firmly.

"I've known you for seven years now! I trusted you, more than anyone else before Hogwarts, and now you suddenly turn up saying you've detected magic?" Harry stopped walking and stood on the spot. "Have you been spying on me?"

The Major gave a growl of annoyance and turned back to Harry, but he seemed to see the worry and fear in the boy's eyes and gave a sigh of defeat. "Harry, I know you have questions and I'll try and answer the ones I can, but only after we deal with your current situation. And I haven't been spying on you, I've been… looking out for you, making sure nothing happens to you…"

Harry nodded, hearing the genuine concern in the Major's voice. They walked side by side and he tried to think of a question that the old man would be able to answer, "Are we going to your house?"

"Yes, I need to get word to Riddle about what just happened." Chilmead said simply.

"You know Professor Riddle?" Harry only received a nod in reply. "Are you going to send an owl?"

Chilmead shook his head. "No, it'll be too slow. Alright here we are."

They walked up to the house and Chilmead looked around to make sure there was no one around before giving the bottom of the door a sharp kick. Harry heard a click and the door creaked open. After stepping inside and closing the door shut with the heel of his boot, the Major dropped Harry's trunk almost carelessly and ran over to the fireplace. Harry placed Hedwig's cage on top of the trunk and looked around the room. It seemed no different to how he remembered it but Harry could tell something was missing. Everything was neatly in it's place, exactly the same as it had been when he first came here as a six year old. Exactly like it was the last time he was here. Harry frowned as he walked up to a bookcase with a chair directly in front of it.

Harry swept his hand against the seat and found that is was very dusty. He had been the one that had brought this chair all the way from the dining room in order to reach a book that was on the top shelf. He had done this almost four years ago, during the last time the Major had looked after Harry, before he received his letter from Hogwarts. Harry turned to ask the man why he didn't move the chair back, as Chilmead certainly wouldn't have a problem reaching the top shelf, but stopped when he noticed him standing in front of the fireplace holding something in his hand.

"Hogwarts, Headmaster's office!" Chilmead said in a clear voice and threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace. Green flames erupted from the spot and he quickly got down onto the floor and pushed his head through the fire.

With a startled shout, Harry ran up to the man thinking of pulling him out, before he reminded himself that it was just floo powder and Chilmead obviously knew what he was doing. He didn't seem to be in any pain, just extremely uncomfortable kneeling on the floor as he shuffled his knees. Harry thought he could hear him saying something, but it was muffled so he leaned in closer. He got a few disjointed words but he wasn't going to be able to listen to the conversation and decided he didn't want to be caught eavesdropping and was about to pull back when he saw the back of the man's neck.

Harry stared in horror as he saw the Major's skin start to bubble and seemingly melt, and he grabbed the man's shoulders and pulled him out. Harry gritted his teeth preparing to see a terribly disfigured face as Chilmead slowly raised his head.

"Damn." the man kneeling on the floor said slowly as his eyes met Harry's. "No questions, not right now."

"But… But…" Harry sputtered. " _Sirius_ _Black_?"

Sirius got to his feet, ignoring Harry, and walked over to the fireplace again. Harry noticed then that the picture that normally hung above there, a totally unremarkable painting of a basket of fruit, was opened revealing a small shelf hidden behind it. He reached in, pulling out a small square mirror he shook some dust off the surface before saying in a clear voice, "Remus Lupin."

Sirius and Harry both waited in silence but nothing seemed to happen. The wizard growled and said again, "Remus bloody Lupin, answer me now!"

There was a flash from the surface of the mirror and Harry heard the tired voice from the Hogwart's gameskeeper. "This better be important Sirius, it was a full moon last nigh-"

"It is important!" Sirius snapped. "Harry used magic at his uncle's place."

"Harry did what?" the werewolf said sharply. "Why? Where is he? Is he safe?"

Harry gave an embarrassed cough and said, "Hello Remus."

"Harry!" Remus almost shouted, as he caught sight of the boy standing behind Sirius. His surprise quickly turned to annoyance as he glared at his friend. "Sirius, why did… You know you can't show yourself to him!"

"It was an accident, Remus, I completely forgot when I took the Polyjuice." Sirius grumbled, then added when Remus still looked irritated "I was worried Harry was being attacked!"

"Fine," Remus sighed, "did you contact Professor Riddle?"

"No, I've tried his office, but it's only Nagini there." Sirius said with a slight shudder.

Remus frowned in worry, "Alright, I'll try and find him. When did it happen?"

"About ten minutes ago?" Sirius turned to Harry, who nodded. "It sounds as if he used an Engorgement Charm accidentally. Anything else Harry?"

"Erm, the front door opened automatically when I was trying to get out and it locked behind me when my uncle tried to chase after me." Harry muttered.

"You got that Remus?" Remus nodded and the mirror flashed again, showing only Sirius, Harry and the room behind them.

"Sirius, how much trouble am I in?" Harry asked quietly.

Sirius paused as he hid the mirror back behind the painting, "Since you didn't use your wand, it should normally just be a slap on the wrist, but..."

"But what?" Harry whispered.

"Try not to worry too much, it'll be fine." Sirius tried to smile, but Harry could tell he was uneasy.

"Sirius why couldn't you tell m-" Harry was interrupted by a few sharp taps on the door.

"They got here quickly." Sirius said quietly. He turned back to the hidden compartment behind the picture and stowed away a small bowl that was on the mantelpiece as well as his wand, which he took out from his pocket. "Harry, they cannot know that I'm here, okay? I'm just a drunk old Muggle that used to look after you from time to time and you came here because you were upset and didn't know where else to go, okay?"

"But..." Harry started to say, but seeing the desperate expression on Sirius' face he just nodded.

Sirius gave him a weak smile and pulled out a flask and a tiny glass bottle from his pockets. There was a few more insistent knocks on the door so Sirius cleared his throat and said in raspy voice slightly louder than necessary, "Yes! Yes! Alright! We've heard you! Harry can you get the door?"

Sirius put a hand on Harry's shoulder, stopping him from going any further than a single step then raised his finger in front of his face telling him to wait a moment. Sirius opened the flask and raised it to his lips, taking a few gulps. Harry stared in amazement as the skin on Sirius' face started to bubble and shift forming wrinkles, his long black hair receding into his head while losing it's colour. Within seconds the man standing before Harry was the impeccably dressed, grey haired former army officer, Major Winston Chilmead.

He didn't pause and unstoppered the smaller bottle and shook it so that a few droplets of liquid spilled onto the floor. Harry was instantly hit with a whiff of alcohol, strong enough to momentarily make him dizzy. It was only then that Harry realised that the smell of stale brandy that normally accompanied his visits to this house had been missing until that moment. Sirius also sprinkled a few drops of the liquid onto his tongue and made a grimace before turning around and putting everything into the secret space and swinging the picture closed, hiding it from view.

"Go open the door now Harry." Sirius whispered in Chilmead's voice. Harry walked to the door and carefully opened it. Standing in front of him was a witch, wearing navy blue robes, with her hand raised about to knock on the door once more.

"Mr. Potter! Thank goodness you're here!" she gave him a warm smile "Some of your neighbours saw you coming this way, we were worried you might have gotten too far."

"See I told you they'd be here to bring you back! Petunia, it's so good to see you again." Sirius slurred.

"Oh, hello." the witch said warily, before whispering to Harry. "Who's that?"

Harry gave her a small smile, "Oh that's Mr. Chilmead. He used to babysit me when I was younger."

"Muggle?" she whispered, her hand slowly sliding into her robes.

"Muggle and blind drunk. He thinks you're my aunt." Harry whispered back.

She spent a few seconds staring at Sirius, who was by now mumbling incoherently, something about flying nuns and Harry bit his lips to stifle a laugh.

"Aright then. You brought your school things here with you?" the witch seemed to decide then that the 'Muggle' was no danger and completely ignored him. Harry indicated his trunk and the cage besides the door. "Take the cage, I'll carry the heavier one."

"No, I can do it." Harry said.

"Hmm, trying to be polite are you?" she gave him a grin, "Don't worry, I'm allowed to use magic."

Harry picked up Hedwig's cage and moved to the side and she tapped heavy luggage with her wand, and picked it up with one hand. "See? No problem. Goodbye Mr. Chil… bread."

"G'night Petunia." Sirius mumbled. Harry was outside the house now and reluctantly following the witch back towards four Privet Drive. Sirius and Remus had both been trying to get in touch with Professor Riddle, but Harry had no idea what he was meant to do now. Sirius didn't try and stop them from leaving so it probably meant he was supposed to follow the witch back to his uncle's house.

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself have I?" the witch said cheerfully, "I'm Janice Grogmoor, Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, at your service."

"I'm sorry for what I did." Harry apologised, more for the trouble he was putting Sirius, Remus and even Professor Riddle through, rather than feeling bad for Aunt Marge.

"Ah well. Accidents happen, don't they?" Janice said in a reassuring manner, "Otherwise I wouldn't have a job! My colleague is talking to your aunt and uncle right now and they seem to be quite understanding."

Harry stumbled, almost tripping onto the ground. "They are?"

"Oh yes. Don't worry Mr. Potter, we explained that incidents such as these are very rare, especially given students shouldn't be handling wands during the summer." the Ministry witch nodded at Harry. At her words Harry felt his stomach sink, only managing to drag himself after her when she started speaking again, "Yes, they seemed very happy to hear that. There was a very big, toothy grin on your uncle when I left."

Harry shuddered as he imagined what the rest of his summer was going to be like. Ever since receiving his Hogwarts letter, the only thing that had kept his relatives civil towards him was the overhanging, but unsaid, threat of magic being used against them. He sighed in resignation and steeled himself for the chores he'd be doing for the rest of his holidays and for four more summers after that.

They entered the house to find his aunt and uncle standing next to a tired looking wizard in bright yellow robes that screamed 'wizard'. Despite this, Vernon Dursley indeed seemed to have a manic grin plastered on his face. The wizard glanced up and gave them a weak smile, "Alright there, Mr. Potter?"

Harry nodded without taking his eyes off his uncle. Janice dropped his luggage onto the floor and gave him a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder. "I think that's everything then? Mr. Potter, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, we'll be off."

As the two Ministry workers turned to exit the house, an owl swooped in through the open door, flying straight towards the yellow robed wizard. He caught the owl with an 'oomph' and after sharing a brief look of confusion with his colleague, he opened the letter and read it silently.

"What is it Dai?" Janice asked

The wizard's brows furrowed, "Says the Minister will be here in a minute. Says we should wait."

"The Minister?" Janice gave Harry a concerned look.

Harry's heart started beating faster as he could tell this wasn't a good thing. Had this been what Sirius was concerned about?

"He probably just wants to make sure everything has been sorted out. It's Harry Potter after all." Dai the wizard said with a yawn.

There was a minute of awkward silence before, of all the people, Uncle Vernon broke it, "The Minister? You lot are in government?"

Janice frowned, "Yes, well the Ministry of Magic anyway."

Vernon's eye twitched on hearing the 'M' word, but he let out a deep breath, "Why is he all concerned about… Harry then?"

"Because he's… Harry Potter." Janice replied with a bemused look. She saw the blank stares from Vernon and Petunia and she said with a hint of annoyance, "Responsible for the fall of Grindelwald? Greatest dark wizard the world has ever know? Killed countless witches and wizards and several times more Muggles?"

Harry was blushing and was about to face the floor when Janice whipped her head around catching his eye, raising an eyebrow in question. "Erm… they're Mug- they don't really know anything about wiz- anything about our side."

"Still…" she said turning back to the Dursleys, "He's one of the most famous wizards of our time! Isn't that right Dai."

"Oh yes. I dare say, the missus will be thrilled to know I've met you. Quite a fan. When we were discussing baby names, 'Harry' came up quite a bit, she gave birth last week, you know?" Dai said sheepishly.

Harry mumbled a congratulation in embarrassment, turning his deep red face away from them. He glanced at the clock on the wall, noticing at least five minutes had passed since the owl had arrived. Janice followed his gaze, "He's a bit late isn't he?"

A few more minutes passed in silence, before there was a faint pop outside the door and the witch and the wizard from the Ministry straightened their robes before facing the door. It opened to reveal a man in a pinstriped suit and red tie, with a lime green bowler hat.

"Minister." Janice and Dai greeted the man, who returned a nod and quickly walked over to Harry.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, Harry. May I call you Harry? So good to finally meet you. My name is Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic." he grabbed Harry's hand with both of his and gave it a firm shake. "Has everything been fixed?"

"Yes sir, Miss Dursley has been punctured and Obliviated. She's asleep right now." Dai said.

"Good, that's good." the Minister let go of Harry's hand and murmured absentmindedly. One of his hands travelled to a pocket on his suit and he brushed the spot with his hand.

Janice gave a small cough and said, "Minister Fudge?"

"Yes. Such an unfortunate incident, this. Erm… Not one we want happening again..." he straightened his tie and gave Harry a firm look. "No. Erm… it has been decided… I have decided that you will be given a Nullificare Charm."

The witch and the wizard that had fixed Aunt Marge shared a look of confusion, then concern.

"But Minister… surely... this was just an accident. A first incident as well..." Janice said slowly.

"First time or not, he needs to be more careful, given he is in contact with Muggles all the time." Fudge's eyes rolled upwards as if he was trying to remember something, "Besides, we expect erm… a higher standard of behaviour from you Mr. Potter."

"But-" Janice said before she was cut off.

"I am the Minister of Magic and it has been decided!" Fudge said sharply. He pulled something out of his pocket, a little bottle hanging on a thin leather strap. It looked similar to Gideon's one he had seen last year, but was silver in colour. He raised it to put it over Harry's head and the young wizard took an unconscious step back. "There's nothing to worry about Harry."

Harry stood ridged as the strap slid over his messy hair and around his neck. The bottle dropped, falling onto his chest and he let out a surprised gasp as a chill started spreading throughout his body from that spot. It just felt wrong, something was telling him that he should be terrified, but he didn't. There was a hollow feeling inside of him, as if something important was missing, something that he would do anything to get back.

"Not so bad, is it?" Fudge said lightly and Harry could only let out a breath he had been holding in response. "Now I have to tell you, you are not to take it off unless you believe your life is in danger and I mean truly life or death situations. When you return to Hogwarts, one of your professors will give you permission to remove it, understood?"

Harry just nodded, picking up the bottle with his fingers away from his body to see if that helped at all. He shivered and dropped it when it didn't seem to do anything.

"Good, good. I just need to have a brief chat with your aunt and uncle, why don't you go up to your room and get some sleep. I expect you're tired after everything." Fudge said.

Harry took a step towards the stairs then stopped, "I… erm… forgot something at my neighbour's house. I think I'll just go and get it..."

"Neighbour?" Fudge asked.

"A Mr. Chilli something, a Muggle. Used to babysit Harry. He ran off there after the bit of accidental magic..." Janice told the Minister, while giving Harry a worried look.

"A bit late isn't it?" Fudge said glancing at the clock on the wall.

"It's not that far, I think he'll still be awake." Harry hoped desperately that Sirius was still there.

"Very well then… Don't be out too late, Harry." Fudge said before turning to the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon looked as if he wanted to stop Harry, but he seemed unsure of how to act in front of the Minister, who wasn't dressed as outlandishly as the other wizards he had encountered (as long as you ignored the lime green hat he was wearing), while also seeming to be someone in a position of power. He was also trying to take in the fact that his nephew was someone they considered to be quite important as well.

Harry took a step out the door when Janice quietly said besides him, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll be fine. Thank you for everything today." Harry said, trying to smile at her.

She returned a sad smile and nodded apologetically before letting him go. He closed the door behind him and took a few steps before breaking into a run. He barely slowed down when he reached Sirius' house and he slammed into the door, which was thankfully unlocked, and pushed it open. Harry collapsed onto his knees and took in gulps of air, trying to catch his breath.

"Harry, what happened?" Sirius laid a hand onto his shoulder.

"I… He… Minister of Magic" Harry looked up at the man and he held out the charm around his neck.

"A Nullificare Charm?" Sirius gasped. "Fudge was there?"

Harry started to explain what had happened and Sirius gently pulled him up and led him to a chair. The mirror used to communicate with Remus was on the table, with the werewolf's worried expression looking at them. Harry gave a feeble, "Hi again Remus."

Harry continued his story, talking faster and faster, bitterness rising in his voice. "Why? It wasn't my fault! She should never have called my mother a bi-"

He felt the bottle vibrate against his chest and he gasped as he felt something drain out of him. He felt a wave of nausea and his head drooped down, Sirius managing to grab him before the rest of his body fell to the floor.

"Harry you need to calm down." Sirius said in worry.

"What was that?" Harry asked shakily.

"As long as you have that on, it will give you an unpleasant jolt whenever you feel a strong negative emotion. Things that could cause accidental magic." Sirius explained.

"Is this what you were trying to stop?" Harry asked.

"No. Professor Riddle seemed to be worried they might try and take you away from your relatives. A Nullificare Charm isn't the worst thing that could have happened." Remus tried to reassure him.

"Well I hate it." Harry snapped sullenly.

"I'm not surprised. It's normally only used in extreme cases, as well as on people in Azkaban." Sirius muttered. "I can't believe they'd use one on you."

"Azkaban?" Harry raised his eyes at the unfamiliar word.

"Wizarding prison." Remus said through the mirror. "They use the charm for the lesser offences and..."

"And what?" Harry asked curiously.

"Dementors to guard the worst prisoners." Sirius said darkly.

"Sirius! He's only thirteen, he doesn't need to know-" Remus said sharply.

"What are Dementors?" Harry asked, ignoring Remus' attempt to avoid the subject.

Sirius looked at the mirror guiltily and Remus just sighed, "They're dark, evil creatures, hopefully something you'd never have to worry about."

Harry heard the shudder in Remus' voice and didn't voice any further questions. Instead he asked, "Sirius, I thought you worked for the Ministry as well? Why do you need to hide from them?"

"Well… I'm not technically here on Ministry business… Riddle didn't even want me here either and he's the one that brought you to your Aunt in the first place." Sirius scratched his head in embarrassment. "We were meant to keep you hidden away, out of sight, out of mind and all that. But… I couldn't stay away and at first I just came to check up on you every couple of days, without the Dursleys knowing of course, but then I wanted to get to know you properly so I assumed a Muggle identity and managed work my way into being your babysitter."

"But… why couldn't you just tell me? That you knew my parents? The times I spent here were much better than staying with the Dursleys." Harry said, almost hopefully. "This place felt more like ho-"

"Don't finish that sentence." Sirius said with a twinge of guilt. "It's exactly because of that, why I could never tell you. The protection your mother… Lily gave you is only possible as long as your Aunt offers her home to you and you yourself need to feel, however much you dislike living there, that Privet Drive is a home to you."

Harry stayed quiet for a minute. "So what happens now?"

"I think you're old enough to understand now." Sirius said gently. "I know you don't like it, but it's only for a few more years. As for me… I'll probably have to talk to Riddle now..."

"He's annoyed with you Sirius." Remus said.

Sirius gave a dramatic sigh, "I'm not surprised. Last time when he found out I've been watching you, he was… He's usually all smiles, but you really don't want to see him mad."

Harry gave a small laugh, "I can imagine what he'd be like… It was amazing, but quite scary at the same time, seeing what he could do with a wand."

"Oh right. You were in the Chamber during your first year." Sirius said, instantly curious. "He never fully told us what happened down there..."

"Harry I think you should get back home. Get some rest, you'll feel better in the morning." Remus interrupted quickly.

Harry grinned at the two wizards. Even though he hadn't actually talked to Sirius Black that much, the stories about his father that Remus told him had always included the three of them, so he almost felt like he knew the man. He had initially felt slightly betrayed when he pulled Sirius out of the fire earlier that night, but right now he was glad he had someone he could talk to so close to 'home'. His grin slowly turned into a frown as he came to a realisation.

"I wouldn't mind telling you about it but… I'm not sure if they'll let me out of the house now..." Harry said glumly. "I wouldn't be surprised if they locked me in my room until the end of summer."

"That won't be a problem!" Sirius grinned brightly. He picked up the mirror and handed it over to Harry. "This mirror is connected to two others, Remus has one and the other one is over at my place. Just say the name of the person you want to talk to and we'll answer."

Harry took the mirror turning it over once in his hands. "If you both have one… was this..."

"It was James'." Sirius said simply.

Remus was looking out of the mirror with a small smile. "Keep in touch Harry. I'm sorry now but I'm feeling absolutely exhausted."

"Oh yeah, full moon last night wasn't it." Sirius said.

"Good night Remus." Harry said. Remus gave him a nod and with a shimmer the image died away showing only his own reflection.

* * *

Harry hesitantly turned the knob on the door, finding it still unlocked. He had half expected to be locked out until the next morning, it was already past midnight after all. He crept inside, trying not to make much noise, hoping he could sneak into him room and avoid the inevitable confrontation until tomorrow. There was the sound of a clearing throat and he jumped slightly, finding his uncle standing by the stairs, waiting for him.

"So… No freakishness during the summer eh? Forgot to tell us, I suppose?" his uncle was no longer smiling.

Harry closed the door and glared back at him, "I haven't done anything for past few years… until _she_ opened her fat mouth to talk about..."

Uncle Vernon's face twisted in anger, but he didn't move from the spot. He gritted his teeth and said, "I expect you up early in the morning, you have two years worth of chores to do. You are not to leave your room for any other reason. Understood?"

"Fine." Harry was slightly surprised, he had expected worse from his uncle. On the way back he had been worrying that his uncle would have found his wand and broken it. He looked for his trunk that Janice had left by the door, it wasn't there. "Where's my stuff?"

At the question Uncle Vernon bared an evil looking grin, "It's in the cupboard. Locked. Wouldn't want to temp you into using any more… weirdness in the house."

Harry bit back an angry retort and gave a jerky nod. He would have to spend the train journey to Hogwarts catching up on his homework, hopefully his friends might let him copy off their work. "Can I go to bed now?"

Vernon grunted in reply and climbed up the stairs first. Harry waited until he heard the sound of the bedroom door closing before he went up himself. He stopped himself from stomping in anger, lightly touching the mirror Sirius had given him, which was stuffed inside the back pocket of his ill fitting trousers.

He found Hedwig's cage thrown carelessly onto the floor in front of his room and picked it up with a sigh. Harry then heard the sound of a door opening. He turned around to find his cousin, Dudley, walk towards him warily.

"So… Even the rest of the freaks don't want you to do… that stuff… in this house." Dudley whispered at him.

Harry ignored him and moved to open the door to his own room.

"Yeah that's right, just run away. Not so brave anymore are you? Not being able to threaten my family with your evil tricks." Dudley snorted.

Harry gritted his teeth, "I never threatened anyone!"

"SHUT UP BOY!" Uncle Vernon shouted from his room.

"I don't know why mum and dad put up with a scrawny little freak like you… I would have kicked you out years ago." Dudley said in a low voice.

"Believe me, I'd rather be anywhere else." Harry spat out.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore. Now you're just a scrawny little Potterfreak," Dudley took a menacing step towards Harry, "an ungrateful little bastard..."

The punch caught Harry by surprise. He was on the floor clutching his nose he was sure was broken and he could taste the metallic tang of blood on his lips. Harry clenched his fists ready to lash out at his cousin when he felt an all too familiar feeling in his chest. He leaned against the wall and took deep breaths until the dizziness passed. His vision cleared and Harry saw that Dudley was already gone. He slowly dragged himself up, picked up Hedwig's cage, and entered his room, closing the door behind him with a soft, defeated click.

* * *

 **A/N**

Woo~ I'm back! So sorry for the long wait, I wanted to get some chapters written before I started posting again. I'll probably be updating once a week and there shouldn't be any long breaks until the end of Year 3 at least.

For all those curious about Tom, Albus, Grindelwald, Aberforth, Ariana etc etc, you'll have to keep reading to find out!

I've also posted a new story titled 'Phoenix Corrupted Extras'. I'm planning a few single chapter stories about some of the characters that are less prominent in the main story, obviously all set in the 'Phoenix Corrupted' AU. Right now it's only one chapter, about James, Sirius and Remus during their school days. There won't be any important revelations or spoilers in PCE until after I've written it into PC, but it's only a short read and it might give you a glimpse into the differences between the original and my AU.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter and thank you again for your patience! =)


	16. Year 3 - Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Talons, Wet Manes and Unexpected Barbs**

Harry dragged his trunk down the road, with Hedwig in her cage balanced underneath his other arm. He tried to ignore the looks from the few neighbours he passed, who were all looking at him with suspicion. He reached the 'Chilmead' house and the man was standing there, leaning into a grey car on the driveway. Harry quickly glanced around to make sure nobody was around and said quietly, "Hi, Sirius."

"Ow. Harry" Sirius bumped his head once before pulling out of the car. He had a quick look around before grinning at Harry, disguised once more as Winston Chilmead. He frowned when he noticed what Harry was dragging behind him. "Why did you bring all your things?"

"Erm… I thought I could stay with you until school starts? It's only a few days..." Harry said, avoiding Sirius' eyes.

Sirius looked at the tired looking boy, with the broken nose he had already seen a few times through the mirror and said, "I suppose you could do..."

Harry looked up with a smile, "Thanks!"

Sirius picked up Harry's luggage and placed it in the boot of the car. "Alright, get in then."

Harry climbed into the passenger seat and buckled his belt. "I didn't think you were going to take me by car. I thought we would floo there or something."

"It would be suspicious if we suddenly disappeared after entering the house. We have to keep up appearances, don't we?" Sirius said mildly, while trying to find the ignition around the wheel.

"You… know how to drive… right?" Harry asked warily.

"Sure… sure..." he said, not sounding sure at all. "I have a motorbike I use all the time."

"Oh. How often do you drive this car then?" Harry asked.

"I'm just borrowing this for today." Sirius said, his head peering at the small space behind the wheel. "It'll be fine."

Harry noticed that Sirius didn't say how often he drove, or who he had borrowed the car from, but decided not to ask. He didn't think he'd like the answer. "Erm… what about a driving license? Do wizards have driving tests?"

"HA!" Sirius shouted in triumph as the engine rumbled to life. "What? Driving tests? Wizards don't really need cars do they? But I do have a license, well Chilmead does anyway. All buckled in? Okay, here we go."

Sirius stepped on the acceleration and the car lurched forwards before stopping suddenly, throwing Harry painfully into his seatbelt. The wizard frowned and pushed down harder and a grinding noise started coming from the back of the car. "Sirius. Maybe it's the handbrake?"

Sirius looked down at what Harry was pointing to and gave an embarrassed grin. "Oh, right."

The car shot forwards pushing the occupants back into their seats and Sirius gave a whooping laugh as they left behind Privet Drive and several of the neighbours looking startled. A pale faced Harry kept quiet for a few minutes, deciding it might be best not to distract Sirius until he was sure he could drive safely. Hedwig, who was on the back seat, was squawking incessantly, clearly finding the ride as terrifying as Harry.

"So Harry, how have you been?" Sirius asked cheerfully, eyes thankfully on the road.

"Pretty good." Harry replied shakily. They had just skidded to a halt in front of some traffic lights.

Sirius nodded. "Just hang on until we get out of Little Whinging, I'll be able to use my wand then. I'll fix your nose as well."

After driving for what felt like the longest ten minutes of Harry's life, Sirius took his hands off the wheel, while the car was still speeding down the road, and took out his wand. Ignoring Harry's shouts pointing out the unsuspecting lorry they were just about to hit, he calmly tapped the dashboard with his wand. Harry let out a cry and gripped his seat tightly, expecting a crash as the car rammed into the huge vehicle, but amazingly there was only a slight wobble then the car moved around the lorry and carried on down the road.

"I told you I could drive." Sirius grinned.

Harry took in several shallow breaths, trying to calm his thumping heart, "You're not actually driving anymore. How come no one seems to care about the car that's... bumping into everything?"

"Magic." Sirius said simply, then he pointed his wand at Harry's face. " _Episkey._ "

Harry carefully touched his nose after feeling a very strange sensation. It didn't seem to be broken anymore. "Thanks, Sirius."

"No problem. Not hurt anywhere else are you?" Sirius asked.

"No. I managed to stay away from my cousin after that." Harry said, then quickly tried to change the subject. Sirius and Remus hadn't been pleased when they saw Harry's swollen nose through the mirror, Sirius had been quite vocal with his threats against Dudley. "Er… so what did you mean Chilmead has a driving license? I thought he was made up?"

"No, there really is someone called Winston Chilmead, but when he retired from the army he went off to live in Spain about fifteen years ago." Sirius explained. "The face I borrowed from a Muggle that works nearby the Ministry."

"How do you borrow someone's face?" Harry asked curiously.

"Polyjuice Potion." Sirius said and on seeing Harry's blank expression, started explaining. Harry listened, while still flinching slightly every time the car bumped into another vehicle, a house or anything else, but slowly he felt his eyelids becoming heavy. "-month, a whole month! I've never had the patience but… Harry?"

Harry jumped awake. "What? Sorry, I dozed off..."

"You sure you're okay?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"Yeah. I've just been feeling slightly tired recently." Harry yawned. "It must be all the chores my uncle was making me do…"

"Or it could be the gift from Dumbledore..." Sirius muttered quietly.

Harry's eyes jerked open. "What do you mean? I thought it was Fudge that decided on the charm."

"Fudge couldn't decide what socks to wear without consulting Albus Dumbledore first." Sirius snorted.

"Why is he out to get me?" Harry wondered out loud, thinking about his meeting with the wizard during his first year at Hogwarts.

"No idea." Sirius said too casually. "So you've been feeling drowsy? Have you been getting tremors in your arms and legs or getting blurry visions?"

"Maybe a bit… why?" Harry asked cautiously, he didn't want to worry Sirius too much.

"Side effects. I've heard it can affect some people worse than others." Sirius grunted. "Why don't you get some sleep, we'll be there in about an hour."

Harry opened his mouth to say he was fine, but he was hit with another wave of fatigue. He sighed and mumbled, "Okay.", before leaning back. In a minute the car was silent, punctuated with the soft hoot of an owl every time the car bumped into something and Harry closed his eyes, snoring softly.

* * *

Harry stumbled thinking he was going to be sick when they arrived at King's Cross by Apparition. It was the second time he had Apparated with Sirius' help, but it hadn't felt any better than the first, when he went from Diagon Alley to Sirius' little flat after getting the books and other things he needed for his third year at school.

Harry entered the platform through the concealed entrance and looked around for his friends. He immediately found the Weasleys, who were gathered around the train waiting to board. Harry walked over and they greeted him enthusiastically when he joined them, Mrs. Weasley giving him a tight hug. "Oh, Harry how are you dear? We've been so worried about you since..."

She let him go and Harry noticed her eyes wandering to his chest, where a little silver bottle was hanging underneath his clothes, out of sight. "I'm good Mrs. Weasley. I've been staying with Sirius."

"Yes. I heard from the letter you sent Ron." she looked up at the man who was bringing Harry's trunk. "Mr. Black, it's nice to see you again."

"Sirius, please." he replied extending a hand. "So how..."

"Harry!" a bushy haired girl squealed and threw herself at Harry, causing the adults to chuckle and he saw the Weasley siblings giving him an amused smirk.

"Nice to see you too, Hermione." Harry said with a blush.

"I hope you don't expect the rest of us to greet you the same way." George said with a grin. "Well, we're off to find Lee..."

"So…" Ron said, after awkwardly asking Harry how he was while he glanced at his mother and Sirius, who were deep in conversation. Harry noticed Hermione give Ron a little nudge with her elbow. "...We heard the Ministry gave you a Nullificare Charm..."

"How?" Harry was a little shocked. He hadn't mentioned the incident in any of his letters.

"I overheard my parents talking to Gideon. My dad found out from work…" Ron explained guiltily.

"Oh." Harry mumbled.

"Gideon was saying it can be a bit rough sometimes…" Ron said.

"Harry are you feeling okay?" Hermione asked with worry in her eyes.

"I'm fine, really. I've just been sleeping slightly more than I usually do." Harry said, deciding to avoid telling them about the other nastier side effects.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but a shrill whistle sounded, announcing that the train was about to depart. Mrs. Wesley gave each of them a quick hug before urging them onto the train. Sirius helped lift Harry's luggage onto the train.

"Say hi to Remus for me." Sirius said with a smile.

"Say hi yourself." Harry grinned back, patting his pocket. Sirius had made sure Harry didn't forget the communication mirror just that morning.

"Alright then, keep in touch." Sirius waved.

Ginny went off to find her friends so Harry, Ron and Hermione found an empty compartment. Harry pointed to the basket Hermione was carrying. "So that's Crookshanks?"

She nodded in reply, giving her huge ginger cat a fond look.

"And this..." Ron said raising up a small cage of his own, "...is Fenlutus."

The creature inside the cage had a slender long body covered in greyish fur, with flecks of black and white. It had a pointed snout and tiny ears and it quivered it's nose at Harry as he stared at it. The little creature could definitely be described as 'cute'. Ron had mentioned it, or rather her, to Harry many times in his letters. He had been quite excited when his parents bought the pet for him while they were in Egypt.

"I'll let you out for a little while..." Ron cooed at Fenlutus. It tamely crawled up his arm and perched on his shoulder. "I named her after the chess player, Sacha C. Fenlutus."

Harry stifled a giggle at seeing his friend so taken with his new pet, but he was honestly happy for him. Harry noticed often that when Ron saw him with Hedwig, he could see a glimmer of envy in his eyes, not that he'd ever said anything aloud.

Hermione must have already seen Ron act like this as she didn't give much of a reaction, "She is very pretty isn't she? Oh, but I like you better Crookshanks."

The grumpy looking ginger cat meowed approvingly as he was let out of his basket and placed himself on Hermione's lap. She stroked the cat's back and avoided looking at Harry, "So… Harry… can we see the charm?"

Harry sighed and took it out, showing them the little silver bottle. "And before you ask again, I'm really fine. Don't get me wrong, I'm really looking forward to taking it off, but it's not killing me or anything."

"From what Ron overheard from his uncle, it can feel horrible to wear this thing..." Hermione said while she tentatively poked the bottle with her finger.

Harry frowned in annoyance as he realised Ron and Hermione had been talking about him behind his back. He gave Ron a slight glare, causing the red-haired boy to blush. Ron cleared his throat and said, "Gideon said it can happen sometimes, but Harry says he's fine, right?"

"If you say so..." Hermione said unconvinced, her head pushed uncomfortably close to Harry's chest. "I really can't believe you blew up your aunt though, you should have been more careful..."

Harry felt a flash of anger and quickly snatched the bottle out of Hermione's hand, then took a few deep breaths to calm himself as he felt a tingle in his chest. "It's not my fault! If you heard the things she was saying to me… about my parents..."

"Oh… I didn't mean… I'm so sorry Harry..." Hermione flinched back.

"So Harry." Ron said loudly, trying to diffuse the tension. "How was your stay with Sirius?"

"Oh, it was great. He was a bit busy though, being an Auror and all..." Harry quickly latched on to Ron's attempt to change the subject. With Sirius at work until late in the evenings, Harry spent his time catching up on his homework or maintaining his Nimbus Two Thousand with the Broomstick Servicing Kit Hermione had gotten him for his birthday. He unfortunately couldn't fly, seeing as they were in the middle of Muggle London, but he took a few walks, avoiding pigeons and getting lunch with the Muggle money Sirius had given him. He was alone most of the time, Sirius seemed to be working on an important case, but the day before leaving for Hogwarts they enjoyed a huge dinner that Sirius made, which was not as lavish as Mrs. Weasley's feast from last year, but still a thousand times better than what he would have eaten back at Privet Drive. The Dursleys had fed him small meals grudgingly, but even during his stay with Sirius, he found that he lacked an appetite most of the time. But sitting with Sirius, with a home made meal in front of them and stories from Sirius' Hogwarts days to entertain him, he found himself eating a lot more than he did all summer.

"… is really unpleasant. I'd much rather use a broomstick or even us floo powder really." Harry noticed a pale faced boy walking pass their compartment before doubling back giving a wide eyed look at Ron, then slamming the door wide open.

"I was planning on just walking pass..." drawled Draco Malfoy, mouth twisted in a smirk. "...but you really seem to be going out of your way to give me reasons to mock you."

"What are you talking about Malfoy?" Ron glared at three Slytherin boys that had just pushed their way inside.

"Have you finally accepted what you are and bought yourself a little _weasel_ as a pet?" Malfoy sneered gleefully, Crabbe and Goyle sniggering behind him.

Ron's face turned the colour of his hair and he stood up angrily, "She is _not_ a weasel, she's a mongoose!"

Hedwig clicked her beak in agitation and Crookshanks hissed softly at the Slytherin boys. The pet in question simply blinked seemingly unaware of the insult thrown at her owner.

"Oh, 'she'? Did you have another sister I wasn't aware of? Did your family finally run out of Galleons so they had to transfigure her so she could attend- MERLIN'S BLOOD!" Malfoy shrieked and jumped back.

Fenlutus the Egyptian mongoose let out a low hiss and suddenly Harry understood the meaning of 'raised hackles'. The smooth short hair on the back of the creature's neck instantly grew outwards, until it resembled sharp black spines like you might find on the back of a porcupine. That, alongside the sharp bared teeth and angry eyes that seemed to reflect Malfoy's own grey ones, was not only enough to frighten the pale Slytherin and his friends, but Harry and Hermione as well.

"...You were saying Malfoy?" Ron smirked, but Harry could tell that his friend had been surprised by the creature's reaction as well.

"I-" Malfoy started to retort, but was drowned out when Fenlutus gave another angry hiss, leaning forwards threateningly. Goyle murmured something in his ear and the three boys gave a final frighten look at the beast before retreating out of the compartment.

The door slammed shut. Harry and Hermione stared warily at the animal, who was still on Ron's shoulders and even he seemed to be slightly uneasy. Fenlutus seemed oblivious to the stares and shivered slightly as the spiny growth seemed to retract into itself, before curling up and blinking placatingly at the three students looking at her, as if nothing had happened.

"What… what…" Hermione didn't seem to be able to get the words out.

"...No idea." Ron answered quietly, hesitantly running a finger down his pet's smooth back, while it let out a noise of appreciation.

"I thought you said it was just… a normal animal..." Harry said carefully.

"That's what the guy that sold it to me said… Bill told me he might be a bit shady, but I didn't think..." Ron muttered.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Harry. "Are you even allowed to keep something like that at Hogwarts?"

"Well..." Ron blushed slightly. "you're meant to be allowed owls, cats or toads, but I heard a few people sometimes bring rats or mice as pets… I mean… she's a bit like an overgrown rat, right?"

He looked at his two friends hopefully. Harry gave him a non-committal shrug while Hermione sniffed, as if saying 'no, definitely not', but didn't actually open her mouth.

"I'm sure the professors won't mind… right?" Ron looked at Harry, hoping for a reply.

"Sure… but maybe you should ask Hagrid what th… she is?" Harry said slowly. "I mean… just to make sure she isn't… dangerous or anything."

"Maybe..." Ron said uncertainly. There was an awkward silence after that, Ron scratched the back of his neck and said with a bit too much enthusiasm, "Scared Malfoy off though, didn't she?"

Harry had to grin at that. Hermione's mouth twitched into a small smile as well, but she said diplomatically, "She was really quite terrifying Ron."

"I honestly thought that Malfoy wouldn't be so… _Malfoy_ _ish_ this year. Especially after all we went through last year with the Erisian..." Harry sighed.

Ron snorted, "I never thought that for a second..."

There was a rattling of wheels outside and the door pulled open gently, "Anything off the trolley dears?"

* * *

"Miss Granger, please wait a moment while I speak to Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall said outside her office before entering, indicating to Harry that he should follow. She moved behind her desk while Harry fidgeted uncomfortably in front of her. He knew why he was here, it was because of the Nullificare Charm and not because he was in any trouble, but her stern presence had a way of making you feel guilty just by being there.

She gave Harry a look of half sympathy and half disapproval and let out a small sigh. "I have a letter from the Ministry allowing you to remove the Nullificare Charm."

McGonagall handed Harry a letter stamped 'Ministry of Magic' near the top of the parchment. He quickly scanned the contents of the letter. "...while at Hogwarts. Does that mean I have to put it back on at the end of the year?"

"Yes, the Headmaster has been trying to get the decision overturned but has had no success yet. I'm afraid it also means that if you decide to return home, or elsewhere, during Christmas break, you will have to wear it again until you arrive back at the castle." McGonagall said and this time Harry could definitely sense sympathy in her voice.

"Can I take it off now?" Harry decided he didn't care about Christmas or next summer at this moment, he just wanted to feel normal again. McGonagall gave him a nod and he quickly pulled the charm over his head. The effect was instantaneous. That terrible, hollow feeling that had plagued him over the summer was gone and he shuddered out a breath, blinking rapidly. He couldn't help himself from letting out a small laugh of relief. "What happens to this now?"

"You should hold onto it. Keep it safe in your dormitory." she hesitated a moment. "How are you feeling Mr. Potter? Perhaps you should allow Madam Pomfrey to give you a check up?"

"I'm feeling better than I've been all summer." Harry said with a wide smile. He then realised he was feeling extremely hungry as his stomach gave a little growl. "I just want to go down to the feast."

She considered him a moment before nodding. "Alright then. Please wait outside while I speak to Miss Granger, then we'll go to the Great Hall together."

She called Hermione and Harry left the room, giving his friend a wide and genuine smile. Before he closed the door, he heard McGonagall say a few words, "I'm sorry Miss Granger we were unable to find a way to schedule your lessons..."

Harry closed the door, not wanting to eavesdrop. Something about her lessons? Harry remembered last year when they had to decide what new subjects to take in their third year. Harry had no idea what he wanted to do and ended up choosing the same subjects as Ron, but Hermione just signed up for everything, ignoring comments that she wouldn't have the time for everything.

The door opened and Hermione stepped out, looking a little glum. They walked in silence to the Great Hall, and took a seat next to Ron. The first years had already been sorted so they waited patiently while Professor Riddle gave his start of year speech, welcoming them back to school as well as the usual warnings, then tucked in to the food when it appeared in front of them.

"Why did McGonagall want to see you?" Ron asked, piling his plate full of food.

Harry grinned. "The charm, I've taken it off now."

"You do look much better." Hermione said.

"I know. I feel like I could run a mile." Harry placed a large mound of roast beef onto his plate.

"Hungry much?" Ron snickered. "What did McGonagall want with you, Hermione?"

"Oh. It was about my lessons this year." Hermione said with a small frown. "Last year she told me there might be a way for me to take all the subjects I signed up for… but it didn't work out."

"That's a shame." Ron murmured, while sneaking a piece of chicken to his pet, who was poking her head out of his robe pocket.

"Yes, well... She convinced me that I wouldn't be too keen on Divination, so I decided not to take it." Hermione nibbled on a roast potato. "And Muggle Studies. But she suggested that if I read through the textbooks, it might be enough for me to pass my O.W.L.s, being a Muggle-born and all. She said that if I wanted to take the exams she could set that up."

Ron stared at her and shook his head, not believing anyone would ever want to voluntarily take an extra exam. Harry just laughed lightly. "I think it's probably better this way Hermione. I can imagine how stressed out you would be trying to keep up with all the lessons and homework."

"You're probably right..." Hermione sighed.

* * *

Classes began and Harry threw himself into the lessons with as much enthusiasm as when he first arrived at Hogwarts. Even though he had never been allowed to use magic outside of school anyway, being forcefully cut off from it was a different experience and he spent half an hour before going to bed the first night, shooting off a few random spells making sure he could still do them. He especially enjoyed Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration and Charms, or lessons with 'foolish wand-waving' as Snape would describe them.

It had also been a joy to see all his friends again. Harry had spent the start of the summer staying in contact with most of them, through letters sent by Hedwig, but after the incident with Aunt Marge he felt dull and tried most of the time and it had been an effort just to write to Ron and Hermione. Harry shuddered at the thought of having to wear it all summer next year. He stuffed the Nullificare Charm into a pocket of an old set of robes and kept it in his trunk, hoping to forget about it until then.

Harry had hoped that no one would know about his punishment from the Ministry, but he noticed people whispering and pointing at him as he walked through the corridors of the castle. Ron had found out about it from listening in on his father, and Harry knew there were several students who had parents that worked for the Ministry, meaning that the news was bound to spread. Thankfully, his close friends could tell he didn't want to talk about it and so they didn't mention anything in his presence.

After a few days back it was finally time for the class he had been looking forwards to the most, Care of Magical Creatures. During their frequent visits to Hagrid during their first two years, they often listened to an eager Hagrid telling them about a variety of creatures that he had encountered. The Professor was often vague about what they would actually be studying though, despite Hermione and Sue constantly questioning him, saying that he didn't want to spoil the lesson for them when they finally started his class.

"Ron, where's Fenlutus?" Harry asked his friend at breakfast. He had gotten used to seeing his friend sneak some food to his pet during mealtimes, but not this morning.

Ron paused guiltily and swallowed his mouthful of food. "Erm… decided to leave her in the common room today. To keep Crookshanks company, yeah."

"I see." Hermione said through narrowed eyes. "You take her to all your classes, but not to Care of Magical Creatures?"

Ron had ignored their suggestion of getting Fenlutus checked out by Hagrid and kept her close most of the time. Other than a few short arguments that broke out when people thought Ron's pet was a weasel, which he was quick to correct, Fenlutus had been extremely popular in the Gryffindor common room. The girls especially seemed to think that she was the most adorable animal to ever grace Gryffindor Tower. The mongoose, like her owner, seemed to enjoy the attention, and didn't show any signs of… transforming threateningly like she did on the train. Hermione brought up the subject of getting her checked a few times a day, but Harry let it drop. He could tell Ron was frightened of being told that he would have to send her away if they discovered what she really was.

"Oh come on, Hermione. There's nothing wrong with her..." Ron's voice dropped to a whisper. "… and she's not done… that... thing again..."

Harry nudged her and mouthed 'Drop it', so Hermione rolled her eyes and concentrated on her food. Harry ate the rest of his scrambled eggs and washed it down with some pumpkin juice. "So… I wonder what Hagrid's going to show us first?"

They left the Hall after they finished eating and were joined by other third years all chatting about what the Professor had planned for them. They found Hagrid standing just outside the castle, waiting for them. He gave Harry a cheery wave before taking out a sheet of parchment and an oversized quill. He looked around at the gathered students and began checking them against the names on his list. He ticked a few off quickly, but he called out for a few students who he didn't recognise by name. After making sure everyone was there he put the sheet away and gathered them around.

"My name is Rubeus Hagrid and I teach Care of Magical Creatures here at Hogwarts." the giant man said cheerfully. "Now, for our first lesson I thought it would be nice to show a few creatures that you won't be handling for a while yet. It will, however, give you an idea of what you can look forwards to studying if you stay on until your N.E.W.T.s. Alright then, we'll be going this way first."

They followed close behind Hagrid, who wasn't walking towards his house like Harry had expected, but rather towards the lake. They had to half run to keep up with the Professor's great strides, and quite a few of them were out of breath by the time they reached the shore. Hagrid kneeled down right on the edge of the lake and leaned forwards until his bushy beard was completely submerged underwater and gave a loud, shrill whistle.

He stood up, giving his beard a squeeze, then beckoned the students forwards. Everyone was silent, waiting expectantly. Harry knew about the Giant Squid but had never considered what else lived in the huge lake. Suddenly there was a loud splash and gasps from several of the students as they were suddenly drenched in water. There were a few murmurs of wonder from the students around him, but Harry had to quickly wipe his glasses with the back of his robes in order to see properly. He gave his face a quick wipe with his sleeves, then put his glasses back on. Then his mouth dropped open.

In front of him was what was unmistakably a horse with pale greenish skin, swimming around in circles watching them carefully. Hagrid turned to the students, obviously pleased with their reaction and said, "Now, who can tell me what this is?"

Unsurprisingly Hermione had her hands up first, as well as a few other students. Hagrid pointed at Hermione. "It's a Hippocampus. They're half-horse and half-fish and native to the Mediterranean. I didn't know there were any in Scotland..."

"Ten points to Gryffindor." Hagrid chuckled. "Yer absolutely right Hermione, they're normally not found this far up north, but about fifty years ago one was caught by Merpeople and they'd been breeding them here ever since. This one technically belongs to the Merfolk living in the lake, but they've agreed to let me borrow her from time to time for teaching purposes."

"There's Merpeople living in the lake?" Hannah Abbott exclaimed.

Hagrid nodded and Dean Thomas, who like Harry was raised by Muggles, asked, "Do you look after the Merpeople too?"

"No." Hagrid said firmly. "They can look after themselves without humans interfering, so don't go suggesting to them otherwise, or they'll skewer you faster than you can blink. Same goes for the Centaurs living in the forest. Treat them with respect and they'll do the same."

Dean nodded in embarrassment and Harry was glad he kept his mouth shut, he had been wondering the same thing. Hagrid gave them a short lecture about the Hippocampus, ending it by throwing a ball of something green into the air which caused the creature to jump up after a dive, trying to get to the treat, allowing the students to see the fish-like hindquarters, before splashing them all again with the cold lake water. Hagrid waved his wand drying them instantly and led them away from the lake and towards his house.

"Lesson's pretty good, isn't it?" Ron said to Harry and Hermione. They nodded their agreement.

When they reached the house they eagerly looked around, wondering what else Hagrid would show them. He put his hand into a pocket of his large coat and slowly pulled out what looked surprisingly close to Ron's new pet, except it was slightly bigger and had different colour fur. Harry and Hermione turned to Ron, who was staring with his mouth open.

"How about this one then? Anyone?" Hagrid slowly moved his hand so everyone could get a good look, but no one, not even Hermione seemed to know. "What about now..."

He put his hand into his pocket again, this time pulling out a dead mouse. There was a few shrieks of disgust from the students but the weasel-like creature raised it's head expectantly towards the mouse. It then squeaked out a soft but clear, "Hello."

There were several gasps from the students so Harry realised he hadn't just hallucinated the noise. He then heard Ernie say, "Oh! It's a Jarvey!"

"Right you are, Ernie." Hagrid dropped the mouse onto the ground and the Jarvey jumped off his hand and started to tear into the flesh, looking up from time to time to say 'hello' or 'thank you'. "Anything you can tell me about them Ernie?"

"Erm… they're native to Britain I think and they're able to speak, like we just heard." he said, then added hesitantly. "My grandfather used to use them to get rid of gnomes in the garden."

"Ten points to Hufflepuff. Now, they aren't great conversationalists." Hagrid chuckled. "They usually just endlessly stream out rude words but I managed to train this one to be a little bit more civil."

Just then it turned to the students and told them to do something Harry would never dare repeat in front of Professor McGonagall, causing several of the students to burst into giggles. Hagrid chuckled with them, "It's a work in progress. Now as Ernie just said, in the past they were used to..."

The Jarvey finished with the mouse and crawled back up Hagrid, Harry avoided looking at the carcass that was left behind. "Any questions?"

Hermione purposefully avoided looking at Ron before she put her hand up and asked, "Do they have… spines growing out of the back of their necks?"

Ron shot her a glare and Harry quickly turned around to look for the three Slytherins who had been the only others to see Fenlutus' changed form. They were, thankfully, whispering amongst themselves and ignoring the lesson.

"No they don't." Hagrid replied, giving her a curious look. "There's no physical characteristics that distinguish it from non-magical ferrets, apart from the slightly larger size."

"Not even when they're angry or feel threatened?" Hermione asked insistently, despite a low growl coming from Ron.

Hagrid shook his head. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering." she said quietly, finally glancing at Ron's scowling face.

"Right then… I've left the best till last." he led them towards the paddock around the side of the house and told them to stay while he walked into the forest.

As soon as the Professor was out of sight Ron angrily turned to Hermione. "Why can't you just leave it Hermione? It's none of your business!"

"It is my business if there's a dangerous creature in the common room!" Hermione shot back in a whisper. She was aware that several of the students close by were looking at them.

"She's not a dangerous creature! It's been several days and nothing has happened!" Ron hissed.

Hermione opened her mouth to retort but was cut off by a squeal from Lavender Brown, as Hagrid returned, leading something into the paddock. Hagrid asked them once more if they could identify the creature and several hands shot up, but not Hermione's, who stood there glaring at Ron.

"Correct! Ten points to Ravenclaw, Sue!" Harry stepped between his two friends to stop them from arguing, and tried to pay attention to Hagrid speaking about the Hippogriff. The Professor suddenly stopped speaking mid sentence and sent an annoyed glare at the students. Harry flinched wondering if he had noticed Hermione and Ron squabbling, but Hagrid was looking at the back of the class. Harry turned around to find Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle hunched together completely ignoring the lesson.

Pansy Parkinson was about to whisper something to them but Hagrid took out his wand and waved it in the air, and Harry was instantly immersed in total silence. He saw Parkinson open and close her mouth but no sound seem to come out, and she desperately touched her ears and mouth trying to find out what was wrong. Several other students were trying to click their fingers or clap their hands next to their own ears but no one seemed to be able to hear a sound, apart from the three Slytherin students who were still talking, oblivious to the rest of the class.

There was a muffled boom behind Harry and he saw Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle jump at least a foot into the air and turn to Hagrid with a terrified look on their faces. Harry turned again to the Professor, who was moving his mouth and finally waved his cricket bat shaped wand again.

"...and this is what you can look forward to." Harry slowly regained his hearing as Hagrid pointed at the savage scar crossing his face. "You'll be learning how to handle dangerous creatures and I expect you to pay attention at all times during my class, is that clear?"

The three visibly shaken students nodded and mumbled a feeble, "Yes Professor."

"Alright then, as I was saying..." Hagrid cleared his throat. "The three 'C's. Approach cautiously, bow courteously and wait courageously. Everyone got that? Right, who wants to have a go?"


	17. Year 3 - Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Looking Beyond the Current**

Harry walked with Lavender Brown, she was the only one from his class that was taking Divination, they were trying to find the classroom. They had to consult a few portraits but with the knowledge Harry gained from trying to map out the castle last year, they managed to get there a few minutes before the lesson started. Nobody else was there yet, so they stood there chatting, or rather Lavender chatted while Harry listened. She seemed to be looking forwards to the lesson, unlike Harry, who had only chosen the subject because it sounded easier than the alternatives.

"So..." Lavender said, with forced casualness, "Why are Ron and Hermione fighting?"

Harry sighed and looked away. When they had left the Care of Magical Creatures class yesterday, they were arguing in heated whispers and unfortunately Harry had to leave them to get to his Charms lesson. They were civil, if slightly distant, towards each other that evening, but by the next morning, they had gotten into another fight. Harry could see their point from both sides, he would fight tooth and nail if someone tried to take Hedwig away from him, but on the other hand, Hedwig couldn't do worse than give you a few small scratches.

"Erm… you know… the usual stuff." Harry replied evasively.

"Hmph." Lavender frowned. "I know it's something about their pets. Is Hermione jealous of little Fen-Fen?"

"F...Fen-Fen?" Harry stammered.

Lavender rolled her eyes. "Well, Fenlutus is a ridiculous name for such a cute little thing. Hermione must be jealous, since all she has is that ugly old cat..."

"She's not jealous!" Harry defended his friend. "And Crookshanks is a great pet."

"If you say so." Lavender waved her hand dismissively. "Then why-?"

"I wonder when the door's going to open?" Harry asked looking at the trap door on the ceiling, and just as he said it, it creaked open while a silvery ladder came down just in front of them.

Harry climbed up first, leaving behind a frowning Lavender and the voices of several approaching students. He poked his head through the door and thought he could smell something burning, but then he was almost knocked off the ladder when a strong gust of wind came from the room. The wind was gone just as suddenly and he quickly climbed the rest of the way up, in case it happened again.

In the classroom Harry saw a wizard with tanned skin, a bald head and an unkempt scraggly beard, looking rather guilty as he hastily put something away into his pocket. He raised his arms in welcome, "Third years yes? Come. Come."

Harry took a seat and the rest of the class clambered in one after the other. Lavender looked at Harry momentarily before taking a seat on another table, and Ron climbed in after her, who saw Harry and went to sit with him. He was looking rather cross and Harry gave him a little smile while groaning internally.

When everyone took a seat the Professor faced to address them all, "I am Professor Parnassos. I shall be teaching you Divination for the next few years. Shall we get on with it then, yes?"

He took a moment, like Hagrid had done, to put a name to each of his new students. He went through each of them quickly until he reached a certain name. "Oh… Potter… Harry…?"

"Erm… yeah..." Harry raised his hand and the Professor stared at him for an uncomfortably long time.

"Yes… Potter… the one who… with him… that wizard..." Professor Parnassos trailed off.

"Grindelwald?" Parvati Patil said helpfully. Harry knew that it was Parvati and not her sister, since Padma was in his class but had decided not to take Divination.

At the name the Professor gave an involuntary hiccup and shuddered slightly, looking rather disturbed. "Yes… well… him. Anyway… hrm… Roper, Sophie?"

As the girl answered Ron leaned over and whispered to Harry, "I heard some wizards and witches in Europe are too frightened to say Grindelwald's name. Ridiculous really, not being able to say a name, isn't it?"

"I guess it was worse on the mainland compared to here?" Harry asked.

"I think so..." Ron shrugged.

"Hands off the tables for a moment." Professor Parnassos said. He then waved his wand and several objects shot out from the nearby shelves and landed in the centre of each occupied table. In front of Harry and Ron was a wide brass coloured bowl, a jug of clear liquid and a small glass bottle. Harry looked around and saw that about half the students had the same things, while the other half seemed to have a large glass ball on a metallic stand.

"Now, I have divided the class. Two sets of equipment. Crystal ball is obvious, yes? But can anyone tell me what the other set is for?" Parnassos looked around the room once but no one answered, "No? Well, it for divining through Hydromancy, a method that has been used since the time of the Ancient Greeks."

"You will swap between the two methods each lesson, since it can be tedious to stick to one if you cannot get any results, as is most common in beginners. They are similar enough that gaining experience in one will help you with the other… Those using the crystal balls, chapter two of your books will tell you what to do. For the rest, the instructions are here and for either methods, consult chapter three for the interpretations..."

Harry looked at the blackboard that the Professor was pointing at, then turned to Ron who was looking at him expectantly. Harry poured the water from the jug into the bowl and Ron turned the bottle carefully until exactly seven drops of oil lightly bounced onto the surface of the water. As the final drop hit the surface, the still water began to swirl, creating a miniature whirlpool the slowly diffused after a few seconds.

"This is stupid… I can't see anything..." Ron muttered. They stared down where the oil had created a slightly reflective film on top of the water, which was still gently moving in almost invisible currents under the surface, casting shadows on the oil above. Peering into the bowl, they could see a wobbly, unclear image of themselves. "Maybe it's going to rain tomorrow..."

Harry snorted, "Rain in Scotland? You're being crazy Ron."

There was a small cough from behind them. They turned to see Professor Parnassos looking at them with a raised eyebrow. "As I have said, many of you will not be able to see anything at first. Clear your minds… Do not try to force yourselves to see the future, let the future see you and submit to it..."

Harry stifled a giggle and looked around the room, it seemed a few of his classmates were having more success than they were. Lavender was staring into her crystal ball with great concentration before turning to her book and saying something to her partner.

"Alright Harry… Clear your mind..." Ron whispered with a grin, imitating the Professor's accent.

Harry let out a quiet snigger before shaking his head and peering into the water. "My mind is clear. Hmm… is that something?"

"That thing?" Ron pointed at a spot and squinted. "Looks like a leaf? Maybe we'll be wandering the Forbidden Forest?"

"Leaf? I think it looks more like a..." Harry shook his head, he thought it looked more like a feather. "Never mind."

They spent the rest of the lesson struggling to convince themselves that they could see anything. They interpreted the signs and received a variety of contradicting fortunes for the future, none of it making the slightest bit of sense.

"Make sure you've read your textbooks up to chapter three, yes? We shall be starting our next lesson with a short test on the meanings of each signs..." Professor Parnassos said while he dismissed them.

He waved goodbye to Ron and made his way towards the Transfiguration classroom. Lavender, thankfully, seemed to have forgotten about 'Fen-Fen' and spent the whole time talking about what she had seen when she looked into the crystal ball. Harry listened to her, giving vague noises of agreement, eager to keep her away from the topic of Ron and Hermione.

He entered the classroom and quickly took a seat next to Justin, he didn't think Lavender would choose to sit next to him but he didn't really want to take a chance. "Hi Justin. You just had Arithmancy didn't you? How was it?"

"It was okay, I was pretty good at Maths while I was at primary school. How was Divination?" he asked.

Harry shrugged. "We spent the whole lesson staring into a bowl of water. I had no idea what I was doing."

"Sounds exciting." Justin chuckled.

"It was only the first lesson, it might get more interesting later..." Harry shrugged. "So… Erm, Hermione was in your class wasn't she? How was she?"

Justin hesitated a bit, "Erm… she seemed better once the lesson started. Why exactly are they fighting? Ernie said it had something to do with Ron's new pet?"

Professor McGonagall entered the room just then so Harry gave his friend an apologetic shrug. The lesson started with a bang (or rather a faint pop) when Professor McGonagall transformed herself to a tabby cat and back again, sending the whole class into excited applause. The students' enthusiasm died a little when they realised that they wouldn't be learning how to do that any time soon, and that the whole lesson wouldn't involve a practical session at all, but rather lots of note taking and memorising theory.

As the lesson ended and the class was packing away the Professor called out. "Miss Brown, Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Potter, I need the permission forms from you three to visit Hogsmeade before Hallowe'en."

Harry's heart sunk, he had completely forgotten about it until now. Neville handed over his form without a fuss and Lavender told the Professor she left it in her dorms but promised to bring it before the weekend. Harry waited until they were gone before approaching his head of house. She looked at him and her stern eyes softened as she realised what Harry was going to ask, even before he opened his mouth.

"I um… My uncle said he would sign the form but… after the incident with… well… he forgot to sign it and..." Harry said feebly, the looks in the Professor's eyes telling him it wasn't going to work.

"I'm afraid Mr. Potter, that without the permission slips you will not be allowed to visit the village." McGonagall said, sounding slightly regretful.

"Oh." Harry mumbled. "But… but they're Muggles, they don't really understand anything about Hogwarts. Maybe if you or the Headmaster can give me permission..."

Professor McGonagall gave a small sigh in reply, with a slight shake of her head. Harry left the room without a word, feeling the same anger he had felt the night he blew up his aunt, once again asking himself why he was being punished for something that wasn't his fault. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm down.

He found a space on the table, leaving a place on either side of him for Ron and Hermione. Ron arrived first, face covered in a scowl and took a seat next to him while Harry was cutting into a pork chop. Hermione entered the Hall seconds later but seemed to hesitate as she neared the table. Harry waved her over, pointing to the empty spot next to him so she relented and sat down.

Harry's two friends looked at each other for a moment before they both turned to Harry and asked, rather stiffly, how his lesson was. He put his knife and fork down and gave a tired sigh. "It was fine."

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other again, but this time there was no unspoken arguments in their gaze, just worry for their friend. "Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry glanced at them and had to hide a smile, they were still his best friends. He felt slightly guilty for what he was about to do, but if his misfortune could somehow get his friends to make up and stop fighting...

"Wouldn't you rather just argue?" Harry asked, trying to add a bite to his words.

Hermione and Ron flinched. Ron hurried to reassure his friend, "No, did something happen?"

Harry gave a huge sigh as he lowered his head so they wouldn't see him biting his lips, trying to suppress a snort of laughter. "I don't have permission to visit Hogsmeade, Professor McGonagall said I couldn't go..."

"I'm sorry Harry." Hermione said consolingly.

"I've had to wear that horrible thing during the summer and now I'm being punished again for something everyone keeps telling me was not my fault." Harry moaned into his hands.

"Mate, I promise we'll bring you loads of stuff when we go there… Honeydukes, Zonko's, anything you want." Ron said quickly.

"Really?" Harry raised his head and looked at his two friends. "There is something that I really want..."

"What?" Ron and Hermione asked at the same time.

"What would really make my time alone in the castle bearable..." Harry said slowly, a grin creeping onto his face. "is if you two would stop fighting!"

Their mouths dropped open and they stared at Harry, who was grinning openly now. They realised what he had been doing and smacked him on his arms.

"I can't believe you Harry!" Hermione huffed.

"She's right, Harry. That was low." Ron added with a scowl.

"Come on, you two kept fighting and I couldn't stand it any more." Harry said. "And I'm getting tired of everyone coming to ask me why you've been fighting..."

"Is any of what you said true? About Hogsmeade?" Hermione snapped.

The smile on Harry's face faded instantly. "It really is true. No permission slip, no Hogsmeade."

"Oh." his friends' anger seemed to deflate slightly. Ron shifted uneasily on his seat, "Still… you shouldn't… and it's not my fault, if Hermione would just-"

Hermione's head snapped towards Ron. "If I just what? Ignore a potentially dange-"

"How about this." Harry said quickly. "Hermione, just stop badgering Ron about his pet for now. You know as well as I do that there hasn't been any problems in the common room, unless you count a shortage of snacks because of a relentless appetite-"

"Are you talking about Fenlutus or Ron." Hermione asked with an amused look.

"Har. Har." Ron said, but there was a slight smile on his lips as well.

"-and Ron." Harry ignored them and continued. "If anything happens, _anything_ , like spines or hissing or anything like that, promise us that you'll take her to Hagrid the moment it happens."

"But-" Ron started.

"Ron. We've known Hagrid for over two years now, you know what he's like with animals. He raised a dragon that clawed his face off and he still looks back and smiles about the bloody incident. If anyone is going to understand your situation, it's going to be him." Harry said firmly.

Ron seemed to think for a moment before nodding slowly. "Alright I promise I'll take her to see Hagrid if something happens. If anything happens."

Harry was satisfied. He then turned to Hermione and stared at her until she said, "Fine. I'll stop… badgering… Ron."

"Good!" Harry said, picking up his cutlery. "We're all friends again."

It obviously wasn't that simple. Ron and Hermione were talking more casually now, but there were a few tense moments where Hermione voiced her disapproval over something minor and Ron reacted all too flippantly. Harry tried to smooth over those parts of the conversation and by the end, he decided this was one of the most tiresome meals he ever had to endure.

They finished their food and got up to return to the common room. Harry suddenly heard a voice calling him. He looked back to see Oliver Wood waving him over, he told his friends to go ahead and walked over to the Quidditch Captain. "What's up Oliver?"

"Just wanted to make sure you're still playing Seeker this year." Oliver said.

"Of course I am." Harry replied.

"That's what I thought, just had to make sure though. We'll be starting practice in October." Oliver said with a grin. "I'm determined to finally win this year."

"But we won last year, didn't we?" Harry asked with a slight frown.

"Well, yes. Technically." Oliver shrugged. "But it didn't feel like much of a victory with… you know..."

"I guess." Harry said. His eventful second year had almost torn the school apart, but brought the houses together afterwards, stronger than ever. Despite their names being recorded as the team that had won the Quidditch Cup, it was met with subdued celebrations, the year had belonged to all four of the Hogwarts houses.

"Oh, you haven't seen the twins, have you?" Oliver suddenly asked.

Harry's eyes wandered towards the Gryffindor table and realised that Fred and George weren't there and mealtime was almost over. "No, I haven't seen them today."

Oliver huffed in annoyance. "I haven't been able to find them either. They better not have gotten themselves into detention again..."

"If I run into them, I'll tell them you were looking for them." Harry said and Oliver nodded before he went back to finish his food.

Ron and Hermione were waiting for him just outside the Hall. "What did he want?"

"He was just checking I was playing Quidditch this year and told me that practice starts next month." he told them. "Oh and he was looking for Fred and George."

"I haven't really seen them around the last few days..." Ron murmured.

"I have." Hermione said. "I've seen them in the library."

Harry stopped walking and Ron's mouth dropped open. "The… l...library? Are you sure? What's wrong with them?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "There's nothing wrong being in the library, don't make it sound like a death sentence. They have their O.W.L.s this year as well."

"But… they never study." Ron said disbelievingly.

"Maybe they turned over a new leaf." Hermione suggested.

"Do you think they're still there?" Harry asked. "I should check and tell them Oliver's looking for them."

When they got to the library it was mostly empty since everybody was in the Hall, so they easily found the twins sitting in a corner, with a stack of books in front of them. Ron walked over to them and asked in a hushed whisper, "Who are you and what have you done to my brothers?"

Fred and George looked up, looking slightly irritated from being disturbed. "What?"

"Why are you… studying? You never study!" Ron exclaimed, the librarian making hushing noises from behind her desk.

"Maybe they're imposters taking Polyjuice Potions." Harry suggested as a joke.

"Polyjuice?" George said looking at his twin.

"Might come in handy." Fred replied.

"What are you on about?" Ron hissed, annoyed he was being ignored.

"Oh stop it Ron. They're just getting started on their revision for their O.W.L.s, aren't you?" Hermione asked, nodding her approval.

The twins stared at her for a moment before starting to snort with laughter. Madam Pince gave a loud cough and shushed them again. They bit their hands to try and stop themselves from making any noise.

"No Hermione, we are not revising for our O.W.L.s." Fred finally said after he stopped sniggering.

"Definitely not." George smirked.

"What are you doing then?" Harry asked.

"Ah. Don't you remember what happens next year?" George asked slyly.

"Next year?" Harry frowned.

"The Triwizard Tournament!" Fred said in an excited whisper.

Harry, Ron and Hermione all let out a noise of understanding, and the librarian let out a loud harrumph and a vocal threat to throw them all out if they weren't quiet.

"It'll be our last chance to compete next year, so we're pulling out all the stops and trying to learn anything that might be useful." George explained quietly.

"A thousand Galleons! Think of what we could do with a thousand Galleons..." Fred said dreamily.

"If you have any interest in competing, you guys should start preparing this year as well. It might seem like we're starting early, but remember we have to convince McGonagall to let us go. Better safe than regretfully crying after the train leaves." George said with a grin.

"I'm definitely going to try." Ron said firmly.

"We'll only be in our fourth year, I really don't think we'll be prepared enough for the Tournament..." Hermione shook her head.

"If you're going to give up already, then yes, I don't think you're going to be prepared." Ron huffed, a little too loudly.

"I'm just saying, if you really want to do it, it'll be a lot of work! Much harder than studying for exams at the end of the year!" Hermione snapped. "I don't think you're really prepared to do that!"

Ron blushed an angry red. "Well, if they gave us a thousand Galleons for doing well in our exams, maybe I'd put in some effort!"

"Ron, Hermione, will you keep qui-" Harry hissed at them, but turned around at the sound of rapid footsteps. The librarian was standing behind them with her arms crossed and looking very annoyed. "… erm... we were just about to leave..."

"This is a library! You should know to keep quiet!" Fred said with a look of mock seriousness, George smirking in agreement.

Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly stepped outside. Just as they were walking through the door, Harry shouted, "Oliver was looking for you!", before breaking into a run.

Harry ran and his two friends followed him until they were a few good corridors away from the rage of Irma Pince. He burst out laughing as he tried to catch his breath and thankfully his two friends seemed to find it funny as well.

"Sh..shouting in the library." Hermione breathed. "If she ever gets her hands on you..."

They burst out in laughter again. They calmed down as they walked to the common room, expressing their amazement that Fred and George were actually doing some work, even though it wasn't really schoolwork, for once. Ron turned to Hermione and said quite seriously, "Hermione, I know it's unlikely that any fourth years are going to be picked by McGonagall but ever since Bill was chosen..."

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten he was Hogwarts Champion." Harry said.

"Yeah, well Fred and George are always making fun of him for not winning the Tournament, but I know they're really proud of him, I am as well. I was only eight at the time, but I really wanted to do what Bill did. It's not all about the money either..." Ron added hastily with a blush.

"I'm sorry Ron." Hermione said, looking ashamed. "I shouldn't have said all that stuff in the library either. If you're really serious, I guess it won't hurt you to try..."

Ron scratched his head in embarrassment at Hermione's sincerity. "I guess I haven't really done anything to show that I'm serious, huh?"

They came up to the entrance of Gryffindor Tower and gave the password. The common room was fairly relaxed, it was still early in the term and for most people the workload was still fairly manageable. Harry saw Oliver Wood and told him that he saw the Weasley twins in the library, which was met with a snort of laughter. When Harry told him that he wasn't joking, he raised a suspicious eyebrow, perhaps expecting a prank of some sort, but left the room to go to the library.

He went and sat down next to Hermione, who had found an empty table near the fire and already had her homework out. Harry just sat there for a moment staring into the fire, he was feeling pleasantly tired after dinner and couldn't be bothered to bring his bag down from the dormitory. He just sat there, staring at nothing and relaxing when something slammed down onto the table in front of him.

"Sorry mate." Ron grinned. Harry stared at the object in front of him then turned to face Ron with a frown. "I thought we should get our Divination homework done and over with, so I brought down your book as well."

Harry groaned and sent Hermione an accusing glare, as if blaming her for the Ron Weasley appearing in front of them eager to do his homework. Hermione met his glare with an amused grin, and Harry could only smile back. He managed to get though one paragraph, before he decided reading the book was just as interesting as staring into a bowl of water, which meant not very much. Ron seemed to have lost some of his enthusiasm as well and was feeding something to Fenlutus, who was curled up in his lap.

"So Ron, can we look forwards to having to go to the library when we want to speak with you?" Harry asked, closing the book.

Ron seemed to think for a minute, "Maybe… but I learn better by doing rather than reading..."

"Well you'd need to read about it first before you decide what you want to learn. For the more advanced spells, you might even need someone to teach you." Hermione said not taking her eyes off her homework.

"I doubt any of the professors would want the extra work." Ron said.

"Fred and George?" Harry asked.

"Nah. I was thinking of… someone else." Ron said with a smirk, "A third year, who apparently was trying out N.E.W.T. level spells in her second year."

Hermione's scribbling stopped and she looked up with a blush on her cheeks, "Me?"

"Yeah. Yeah!" Harry agreed. "I think you'd be a great teacher."

"You'd practically been helping us with half the stuff we've learnt since our first year." Ron said with a grin. "Le-Vi-Oh what was it?"

Hermione laughed at the memory. "Well… I think every one of us has something useful to teach. Sue was telling me about this charm that sounds absolutely fantastic..."

"Hmm… I guess we did a lot of exploring last year, so it's only fitting we do some research this time. Remember what H.E.R.S. stands for." Harry said with a smile.

"I swear though," Ron shuddered, his hand unconsciously going to his wrist. "if we find another bloody secret room, I'm going to go hide in the Forbidden Forest until the summer holidays."

* * *

They relative calm of the first days of term were quickly shattered and the following weeks became very busy. They had the extra subjects they started this year and on top of that, Harry had regular Quidditch practices starting October. He almost regretted agreeing to the extra work in preparation for the Triwizard Tournament. While Harry thought it might be nice to be chosen as Hogwarts Champion, as Ron's attitude was quite infectious, he didn't think there was a single chance any one of them would be picked and he honestly didn't care either way.

He was still glad they agreed to meet together though. Although it had started with them looking up and practising a few spells, it quickly turned to a sort of study group, where they could help each other with their homework, but also relax by playing games or just sit and chat. Harry thought Hermione would get annoyed when Ron challenged Terry Boot to a game of chess during one of these meetings, but she was surprisingly okay with it. She seemed content that for once Ron and Harry could get their homework done in time, without her having to nag the day before it was due.

They had asked both Professors McGonagall and Flitwick for somewhere they could do their work (Hermione had insisted on it), and although, like Harry, they were sceptical about any of them competing in the Triwizard Tournament, they seemed to approve their willingness to do the extra work and granted them use of a few empty classrooms. Harry suspected it might have been something to do with the fact that it was Hermione asking them that they agreed.

Harry took a deep breath and raised his wand slightly, glancing at the three sitting with him in a circle on the floor. Hannah Abbott looked at him in amusement, "Nervous, Harry?"

"I just happen to like my eyebrows, thank you very much." Harry replied. Despite having spent the last two years in the same room as her during lessons, he hadn't actually talked to her much before these last few weeks. She was close friends with Ernie and Justin and would join them after classes from time to time.

Ron laughed, "Come on then, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. The reputation of our house hangs in the balance."

"And our eyebrows." Justin chuckled as he turned over the top of the small pile of cards he had in front of him and threw it into the centre of the circle. Four of Wands.

Harry turned over a card as well. Seven of Pentacles. "I think I'm at a disadvantage here, I've never even heard of this game until two years ago."

Three of Pentacles. Seven of Swords. Five of Wands. Ron snorted. "You've been playing it since then and it's not really a difficult game to learn."

One of Cups. Six of Wands. Four of Swords. Hannah tensed her wand for a moment. "Besides Harry, you're a Seeker. Good reflexes count for a lot in this game."

"I suppose so." Harry mumbled, it was just a game but he was beginning to feel tense and his heart started beating a little faster. One of Wands. Two of Cups. Two of Pe-

"SNAP!" Hannah shouted pointing her wand at the growing pile of cards in the middle. Harry flinched as the pile exploded and covered himself, Ron and Justin in orange flames. It didn't hurt at all, there was barely any more heat than opening the door to a hot summer's day. If anything it tickled slightly, especially around the eyebrows.

Harry tentatively felt the hair above his eyes as Hannah gathered the cards with a grin. "Did I mention I started playing this when I was six years old?"

After a few more rounds it seemed that Harry's skills in Quidditch didn't really transfer to Exploding Snap as she had suggested, he and Justin were cardless and eyebrowless before long. Ron put up more of a fight but it still ended with Hannah as the victor, with one eyebrow still remaining.

Harry stood up and walked over to Hermione and Sue, who were reading through thick books. "Find anything interesting?"

"Yes." Hermione tried to cover her giggle with a cough. "Something called a Reductor Curse and the Impediment Jinx. They sound pretty useful and not too difficult."

Sue looked up and snorted. "Er… Sorry Harry. We also think it might be good to learn some minor healing spells, but every single book we can find on the subject has this huge warning at the start saying that beginners should only attempt the spells with supervision. I suppose a badly done healing spell can only make things worse."

"I guess we would also need someone to practice on," Ron said as he made his way over, ignoring the giggles from the two girls. "and I don't think any of us want to volunteer."

"We have plenty of time to think about it." Hermione said and stretched.

"Can I ask you guys something?" Justin looked nervous. "I know being chosen as a Champion is a great honour and all that, but aren't you nervous about going to Durmstrang?"

"I guess if it was Beaxbatons last year and Hogwarts before that, it's Durmstrang's turn next?" Harry realised.

Justin nodded. "I know the professors probably wouldn't take us anywhere dangerous, but I've heard things about that school..."

"Like what?" Harry asked curiously.

They all seemed to look at him quite nervously. Hermione broke the silence, "It's a load of nonsense, it was ages ago. And Justin's right, Professor Riddle would never allow anyone to go there if he thought it was dangerous..."

"What was ages ago?" Harry hated these moments, where it seemed everybody knew what they were talking about while he remained clueless. He turned to Ron who seemed to flinch back.

"Erm… well… Grindelwald. They say Grindelwald used to go there… but they kicked him out before he graduated." Ron eventually said.

"Oh." was all that Harry managed to reply.

"But Hermione's right, that place doesn't deserve all the bad reputation it gets." Ron added hastily.

Harry raised his hairless brows in surprise, Hermione also seemed quite taken aback by his words. Ron always seemed prejudiced against Slytherin, telling Harry that the house had produced evil wizards and witches in the distant past. One of the first conversations between the three of them had involved Hermione defending the house, telling Ron that the 'bad reputation' was nonsense. The young Weasley defending a place even remotely associated with dark magic was very strange indeed.

Ron seemed to realise what his friends were thinking and blushed a bright red. "The thing is… Kasper went to Durmstrang and… well you've met him, so you know he's alright."

"Who's Kasper?" Hannah asked.

"Oh, he's my uncle's… friend." Ron said. "Fred and George tricked me into saying a load of horrible things about the school."

"What did you say?" Hermione asked.

"I… erm… it doesn't matter, I was young! It was around the time Bill was Champion." Ron said defensively. "It was a load of obvious lies, when I think about it now, but I didn't know any better then and I went and repeated it in front of Kasper. In my defence, he never mentioned going to school there, I always presumed he went to Hogwarts."

"So all the stuff about them learning the dark magic is a lie?" Justin asked looking slightly relieved.

"Well…" Ron hesitated. "They do sort of learn stuff like that, but it's less of how to use it and more of how to deal with people who use it against you. Kasper using what he learnt there and working as a Healer now. They've had a load of trouble with Grindelwald and his followers, so I've heard they take a hard stance against people using dark magic to harm others."

Justin seemed somewhat satisfied with Ron's answer but Harry didn't really know how to feel. It was unfair to judge a whole school on the fact that someone evil had spent a few years of his life there, but hearing Grindelwald's name reminded him of the hooded stranger he had met in the Chamber of Secrets, and thought perhaps it might be better for him to wait until his seventh year before he went seeking eternal glory.

* * *

"Mr. Potter, a moment of your time please." Professor McGonagall said at the end of a Transfiguration lesson.

The rest of the class shuffled by, most of them uninterested in the reason Harry was being told to stay behind, they were all excited about the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. Ron's suggestion to sneak into Hogsmeade using the secret passages they had found last year was quickly shot down by Hermione, and her own suggestion to write to the Dursleys asking them to send the permission form made Harry laugh so much, it almost made him forget the bitter disappointment of being the only third year to stay behind. He knew his relatives were unlikely to do anything that would make him happy while he lived under their roof. Still, it was only a handful of days amongst a whole year surrounded by his friends, who all promised to bring back sweets and things from the joke shop, so it really wasn't that bad. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

As the last of the students left the room Harry took his bag and stood in front of Professor McGonagall's desk. She looked at him with an expression he couldn't quite decipher and said, "Mr. Potter, I presume you will not be busy on Saturday?"

"I didn't really have anything planned." Harry shrugged and fought the frown that threatened to form on his face. It was very unlike McGonagall to rub in the fact he wouldn't be able to join his friends at Hogsmeade that day.

She nodded at him. "I must say, your work this year has been excellent so far. This… study group Miss Granger has arranged seems to be working rather well, many of the professors have noticed improvements."

"Er… Thank you Professor." Harry mumbled awkwardly, confused at the sudden change in topic.

"Well, I just wanted to ask if you could do me a favour that day." Harry just nodded at her words, her tone suggested she would not take 'no' for an answer. She took something out of her desk and handed it over to Harry. "I need you to take this to Professor Flitwick on Saturday."

It was a sealed envelope. It was thin and very light and it didn't have any writing on it. "I guess so… what is it?"

"It doesn't matter." she said curtly and the corner of her lips twitched slightly upwards.

"Oh." Harry paused. "On Saturday? Will he be in his office?"

"No. He told me he will be enjoying a day off in Hogsmeade." McGonagall said.

"But..." Harry frowned. "Wait. Are you saying I can-?"

"Mr. Potter, I am simply asking you to spend a few hours on Saturday doing me this small favour." McGonagall was smiling quite openly now.

"A few hours?" A grin crept onto Harry's face as well.

"Of course, you would obviously have to leave with the rest of the students in the morning and Professor Flitwick tells me he will be at the Three Broomsticks between one and two in the afternoon. I'm sorry, you'll probably be wasting your whole day doing this." she said evenly.

"I don't mind." Harry said quickly.

Professor McGonagall nodded before her smile faded slightly, "You do understand, I will not… be asking for favours, every time there is a Hogsmeade weekend?"

"Yes, I understand." Harry really did, but even a single trip to Hogsmeade was better than none at all and he was really grateful for it. "Thank you, Professor McGonagall."

"Alright, off you go then." she dismissed him and he practically skipped out of the classroom.

He was in a good mood for the next few days and not even a particularly horrible lesson with Snape could dampen it. His friends were ecstatic and all they talked about was the upcoming trip and Harry realised that they had been purposefully avoiding the subject around him. Now he was bombarded with information about the shops, the history and something called Butterbeer, that he immediately thought sounded absolutely wonderful.

Harry made his way to the front gates with Ron and Hermione, they had agreed to meet with the others around lunchtime at the Three Broomsticks. There was already a short line where Filch was slowly checking names off a list, peering suspiciously at every single one of them. Ron was tapping his foot impatiently and Harry was still smiling when Hermione said from behind them, "Oh no."

They turned around saw what Hermione was talking about. It was Crookshanks chasing Fenlutus, near the edge of the forest. Ron let out a gasp and left the line, running after his pet. Harry and Hermione soon followed him.

"Crookshanks! Crookshanks!" Hermione hissed, very much aware that several people were watching them.

"Fen! Come here!" Ron shouted, not caring who heard him.

"Wait, look!" Harry said as they got closer. It seemed that they weren't chasing each other, but a rat. The half-Kneazle and the mongoose was fast but the rat was more desperate and as soon as the three Gryffindors came closer it darted into the Forbidden Forest. The two pets stopped before entering the forest themselves and stood there, just watching the spot the small creature had vanished into.

They allowed their owners a brief moment to lift them up and fret over their well being before giving them a look of 'don't you have somewhere to be?'. Then the two animals jumped onto the ground and made their way back towards the castle, without giving their owners a second glance. The three students tried to ignore the stares from the others and rejoined the line and by the time they went through the gates, the incident was forgotten and they were back to talking about where they wanted to go first.

"Honeydukes! Or Zonko's!" Ron said excitedly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I think it'll be better if we go there later, unless you want to carry the stuff around with you all day."

"Where do you want to go then, Hermione?" Harry laughed as he looked at the buildings. He had sneaked into the village last year with Sue and Ernie, but at that time he really didn't have a chance to look around and appreciate the only all-wizarding village in Britain, not with impending doom lurking around the corner.

"They say the Post Office is interesting, oh and I always wanted to see Dervish and Banges, Sue said it was fascinating in there." Hermione said eagerly.

"Dervish and Banges?" Harry tried to think back to his visit to the shop. "I can honestly say I don't remember a single thing about that place. I wasn't really in the mood to-"

A hand suddenly gripped Harry's shoulder, nails digging in possessively, and spun him around. "You! You are marked… for death!"

* * *

 **A/N**

First of all, I want to point out that when I wrote the bit about the Triwizard Tournament during the first year, I've mentioned that the Tournament when Bill was Champion was held at Durmstrang so obviously it should have been Hogwarts this year, but I've decided it might be more interesting to set it in Durmstrang. When I starting writing this whole story, I never even considered holding the Tournament anywhere other than Hogwarts, but having written quite a few chapters now and seeing people actually show an interest in my writing, it's giving me the confidence to try and set it in a place where the original books don't give much information on.

It might be a terrible idea I may come to regret later, but for now I'm going with it. As for the bit in Y1C2 that's now a mistake, I'll get around to correcting it soon. I've been meaning to edit some of the earlier chapters, correct some mistakes, re write a few sentences so it flows better and completely change some atrocious chapter titles... and I'm going to try and do it as soon as I finish writing the rest of the third year and I'm hoping it won't take too long, so I can quickly get started on the next year!

Now to my lovely reviewers:

Thank you so much for the positive review, I smiled for such a long time after reading that! =) I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope you like the rest as well.

Now…. Ughhhhh…. Okay, I'll say right here I don't know much about the psychology of abuse victims so I can't really agree or disagree as to whether Harry would even consider staying with the Dursleys at that time, even after hearing what Sirius and Remus have to say, or even after what Riddle tells him in his first year.

Alright, so in my mind the years leading up to him receiving his Hogwarts letter plays out pretty much the same as the books, which means sleeping in the cupboard, lots of chores and probably not as much food as a boy of his age should eat. Now, when Hagrid comes to get Harry on his eleventh birthday, instead of giving Dudley a tail from a failed transfiguration attempt according to the books, he successfully manages to turn Uncle Vernon into a full pig, which instils a much greater fear of wizards and magic in the Dursleys compared to the events in the books.

From this point on, the Harry in my story was pretty much left alone, no chores and no reprisals for eating as much as he wanted and even his things weren't locked up when he came back for summer, until now. He certainly wasn't loved, but he wasn't abused in the way he was before Hogwarts. In the Deathly Hallows, he comes to a reconciliation with his relatives, helping them hide away from the Death Eaters, which means that he had the capacity to forgive them, up to a certain extent, for the way he'd been treated by them over the years. Overall, I've been trying to convey that up till now, the Dursleys haven't been as bad as their canon counterparts.

I'd also just like to make it clear he doesn't 'want' to live with his relatives. But he has a life at Hogwarts which he loves, and a few adult figures in his life that he feels he can trust, including Riddle, Remus and now Sirius so he is willing to endure the few weeks of summer every year until he can find a place for himself.

Alright, I hope that makes some sense to you. This is the longest replies to a review I've posted, but abuse, physical or psychological, is a terrible, terrible thing, and this message sent me into a little bit of a panic.

Anyway, thank you for taking your time to read it, as always I welcome the positive comments as well as the constructive criticisms and I'm always happy to answer any question you might have.

And finally a warm welcome and thanks to everyone who recently followed/favourited the story, thank you for reading it and I hope you enjoy the rest! =)


	18. Year 3 - Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Moonlight Shadows**

Harry's mouth gaped open as he turned around and stared at the witch gripping his arm. She was a thin witch wearing gold and silver robes, a shawl and innumerable chains and beads, bangles and rings all over her body. Her eyes, magnified into huge orbs through her thick glasses, stared at him expectantly and her mouth was showing obvious delight at her own grand pronouncement.

Harry tried to speak but could get no further than "Um...", so he turned to his friends for help. Ron was dumbstruck, but Hermione was more level headed and opened her mouth but she was rudely cut off.

"Yes! Death, my poor dear! The blood of Cassandra Trelawney runs in my veins!" she let go of Harry's shoulder and flourished her arms in the air. "I am blessed with foresight and I see all, I am the great seer with no equal, I am Sybill Trelawney. My Inner Eye... is at your service."

With that she gave a bow, although her eyes remained on Harry the whole time. Harry responded uncertainly, "Erm… that's great?"

She nodded back enthusiastically, "Yes, I am! And you must heed my words, danger follows you everywhere. But I can help! Yes! Just for a small-"

"Hello Sybill!" Fred Weasley suddenly appeared besides her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Oh!" the all knowing Sybill Trelawney was taken by surprise.

"This really won't do, scaring students and all..." Fred said as he gently turned her away from Harry.

"Oh no! But..." she quickly said, regaining her composure.

"Harry." George whispered as he came over and gripped the sleeve of Harry's robes. "Start walking and don't look back."

Harry gave him a nod and quickly moved away from the witch, Ron and Hermione at his heels. Trelawney let out a squawk behind them. "Wait! For just ten Sickles- No just five- No, I'm offering you a free reading- It's a limited offe-"

"Maybe next time!" Fred said loudly, drowning her words.

Harry chanced a glance backwards and he saw Trelawney jabbing her ringed finger angrily into Fred's chest, but he just took it and grinned while pointing at several other Hogwarts students that were making their way down the road. Harry noticed Lavender Brown and the Patil twins approaching the witch with interest.

"Who the hell was that?" Ron asked his brother.

"Didn't you catch her name? Maybe you should clean out your ears and go back and ask her, I'm sure she'd be delighted to tell you." George replied with a grin.

Ron snorted, "Not bloody likely."

"Is she a seer then? A real one?" Hermione asked with slight curiosity.

George shrugged. "A few people think so, but most people don't really take her too seriously. She comes into Hogsmeade whenever the students are allowed to visit, sets up a tent and does some readings for a few Sickles. I know Percy went to her once, but he never told us what he heard. He probably wanted to know if he was every going to become Minister of Magic..."

They saw the tent George was pointing at and Harry felt that 'tent' was a very loose term for it. It was only the size of a phone-box, looking garishly bright in purples and golds and silvers. Streamers hung from the sides in even more colours and on the top, just above the entrance, was an eye with a milky white iris that seemed to follow around anyone passing nearby.

"It's so small!" Harry exclaimed as Fred joined them.

"Are we talking about Ron?" Fred said cheekily, to which Ron scowled and Hermione blushed a light pink.

"It's charmed so there's a lot more space on the inside." George explained.

"Oh, right. That makes sense." Harry said, feeling rather stupid.

"Well then, boys and girl, we have business to attend to." Fred said, then the twins left them and walked towards a shop where quite a few Hogwarts students were milling towards. Ron looked at the shop with longing, but Hermione gripped the back of his robes and dragged him away.

"That was really weird, huh?" Harry laughed, but his voice was slightly strained.

"You heard what… Fred? George? Well, anyway, what they just said. You shouldn't take her too seriously." Hermione said calmly.

Ron quickly nodded. "If she really was a seer, I think she could afford better than that disaster of a tent."

"Right." Harry felt a little better, enough to make a joke. "So we're all agreed, I won't drop dead in the next few minutes?"

"If you do, can I have your broomstick?" Ron grinned at him. Hermione smacked him on the arm, but she was laughing as well.

"Professor McGonagall told me Divination can be highly inaccurate and there are a lot more people who claim to have the gift than there are actual seers." Hermione took on a lecturing tone.

"What about Professor Parnassos?" Harry asked. His Divination lessons weren't getting any better after his first. Neither he nor Ron saw much in the bowls of water, crystal balls or whatever else they were using to attempt to divine the future. It almost seemed like a waste of time, but they hardly received any homework and after looking at what Hermione had to do for her Arithmancy and Ancient Runes class, Harry and Ron were both glad to have chosen Divination.

"I think she was just speaking generally. I doubt Professor Riddle would hire a fraud." Hermione said.

"Like her?" Ron snorted, tilting his head towards the gaudy tent. "Imagine someone like that teaching us..."

They entered Dervish and Banges and had a good look around. Harry avoided the eyes of the owner, Mr. Dervish, as he really didn't want to be recognised, either as Harry Potter, or the blond haired boy that had come into the shop to get a magical key repaired. Although not as crowded as the joke shop they had passed, there were a fair number of students in the shop, so it wasn't that difficult to avoid the shopkeeper.

They eventually dragged Hermione out of the shop and after a quick stop at the Post Office, which made Harry feel very uncomfortable with all the owls staring down at him, they made their way first to Zonko's, then Honeydukes. Both shops were crowded with Hogwarts students, but they gently pushed and prodded their way inside and had a good look around. Harry bought a box of Chocolate Frogs and a few dungbombs which he silently vowed to throw at Ron and Hermione if they started arguing about their pets again.

Ron left the shops with a lot less coin in his pocket, but with several bags of sweets and joke products, while Hermione lectured him about oral hygiene and warning him about using Zonko's stuff in the school. As they were making their way towards the Three Broomsticks, Ron suddenly came to an abrupt halt as they passed a little shop. "Argh, I forgot!"

"What?" Harry asked Ron, who was staring into the window at the quills, ink bottles and other stationary on display. Harry looked up at the sign which simply read, ' _Scrivenshaft's_ '.

"I promised Ginny I'd get her a new quill." Ron sighed.

"Well, if you promised..." Hermione said and walked into shop, followed by a mumbling Ron.

Inside the shop they made their way to the shelves where the quills were stocked. Ron quickly scanned the selection and grabbed a murky brown one, which Harry thought looked quite unpleasant. Hermione instantly voiced her disapproval, "Ron, you can't get her that one!"

Ron glared at her, "She'll be fine with it, it's just a quill! Besides… I don't have enough money to..."

"Well, you should have thought of that before you went and bought all that!" she said, waving at the bags Ron was carrying. "Pick something else, I'll chip in a few Sickles."

"Y… you don't need to do that." Ron went bright red.

"We don't mind." Harry said giving his friend a reassuring pat on the back. Harry didn't speak to many people outside his own year, but he was on quite close terms with all the Weasleys and other than Ron, Ginny was the easiest to talk to. He didn't need to worry about pranks and jokes at his expense as he did with Fred and George, and Percy was always too keen to talk about school work.

Ron mumbled a quiet thanks and took a little more time browsing, with advice from Hermione. They left the shop with an eagle quill, white with a black tip and a few streaks of red throughout. Harry tensed as they passed Trelawney's tent, he could feel the pale eye following his movements, but the witch herself was nowhere to be seen, probably inside doing a reading.

The Three Broomsticks was a cosy little pub already quite packed with fellow students, it was slightly smoky but not unpleasantly so and most importantly, it was warm. Harry saw Ernie and Sue already sitting at a table waving them over and he also noticed Professor Flitwick sitting with a few other professors he recognised, sipping a red drink with a tiny umbrella sticking out of the glass. He told his friends he needed to give the professor the letter from McGonagall and made his way through the crowd, ignoring the looks he received from the few villagers that were there.

"Professor Flitwick," Harry said, taking out the sealed envelope. "Professor McGonagall asked me to give you this."

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Yes. Yes, of course." he took it from Harry and carelessly put it into one of his pockets. "Enjoyed yourself today, I hope?"

Harry nodded, "I did Professor, thank you."

"Not at all! Thank you for bringing this to me!" Flitwick squeaked, while patting a pocket on the side of his robes. It happened to be a completely different pocket to the one he placed the 'letter' from McGonagall, which Harry by now was suspecting was just a blank sheet of parchment. "Now off you go and enjoy the rest of the day. The students all enjoy a nice Butterbeer, but I recommend the cherry syrup with soda!"

Harry thanked him again and joined the others at the table. Hermione had gotten him a tankard of hot Butterbeer. He drank deeply and didn't stop until he drained half of the sweet liquid, instantly feeling his body warm up.

* * *

Harry woke up, bleary eyed as a bright light penetrated the curtains of his four poster bed. He felt so tired, he was sure it couldn't be morning already. He heard the groans from the other boys in the dormitory while he sat up, reaching for his glasses. He had arrived at the dorms, full to bursting after the Hallowe'en feast, and barely managed to take off his robes before falling onto his bed and drifting off to sleep.

He was dozing off again when a sharp clap sounded in the room, "Alright everyone, be down in the common room in five minutes!"

"What?" a dazed Seamus muttered.

Harry pulled his curtains open, blinking at the bright light that seemed to be coming from the centre of the room and looked at the person standing by the door. Harry vaguely recognised him as a fifth year prefect. "Professor McGonagall wants you all down in the common room in five minutes. She said she will give detentions to anyone who isn't there."

"What's going on?" Ron asked, but the prefect had already left. With a groan they all got dressed and made their way down to the common room, where quite a few people had already gathered, looking as tired and confused as the third year boys.

Harry caught sight of Hermione, who was sitting on a chair near a window, and made his way towards her, he yawned widely the asked her, "What's going on?"

"I have no idea." Hermione mirrored Harry with a yawn of her own. Harry sat down next to her and Ron soon joined them. "Ginny really likes the quill, by the way."

"That's nice." Harry murmured sleepily. He looked out the window and stared at the full moon winking at him through the clouds. He turned to the entrance when the portrait opened and Professor McGonagall walked through, looking stern and worried at the same time.

"Percy, is everyone accounted for?" McGonagall asked the Head Boy, who had been standing by the portrait waiting for her.

Percy went slightly red, "Fred, George and Lee weren't in their room. No one is sure where they went…"

"Of course, why am I surprised..." McGonagall gave an exasperated sigh, then she turned to the gathered students, "Alright! You may all return to bed now."

They all shuffled back upstairs one by one, all irritable for being woken in the middle of the night without much of an explanation. Harry said goodnight to Hermione then shook a softly snoring Ron awake. Harry stood up and caught sight of something out of the window, the pale moonlight revealed the school grounds where he saw a hulking shape, that could only be Hagrid, standing by two smaller figures. The clouds parted and he saw that it was Professor Riddle and Professor Dumbledore.

Harry stood and watched as the three professors stood there talking, clearly agitated. He saw Hagrid shake his head and point back towards his own house. They seemed to come to some sort of agreement afterwards, as they all took out their wands before entering the forest.

"Are you coming Harry?" Ron asked from the foot of the stairs.

"Yeah." Harry turned away from the window and followed Ron back up to their room.

The next morning Harry wandered into the Great Hall, still feeling quite tired. The Hall was considerably noisier than usual for this time of the morning, and even the professors were ignoring the food and talking in hushed whispers. They found a seat near the Weasley twins, who were both looking quite glum.

"Where were you two last night?" Ron asked while he loaded his plate with food.

Fred shot him a glare before sighing, "We were setting up a harmless little… prank for Filch."

"McGonagall found us and made us get rid of everything… that was half of what we bought at Zonko's." George groaned.

"That's why we were woken in the middle of the night?" Hermione asked sounding annoyed. She apparently had trouble getting back to sleep after returning to her bed.

"What? No! We have no idea why everyone was up." George raised his hands in defence.

"I saw Riddle, Dumbledore and Hagrid heading into the forest after they woke us up." Harry sipped his tea and said quietly.

"Really?" Hermione looked thoughtful.

"Ugh… we have detention for a week… And don't say we deserve it." Fred added seeing Hermione's expression.

George stabbed a bit of bacon to death with his fork, "She even threatened to take us off the Quidditch team for the next-"

"What?" Harry choked on a mouthful of toast.

"She only threatened us. Next time she finds us out of curfew..." George slid his finger across his throat.

Harry let out a sigh of relief when Professor Riddle stood up and asked for attention.

"I have always started the year by telling you that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students. This is not a suggestion, this is not a piece of advice. It is a rule, a rule that will be enforced with punishments if necessary. If any student is found near the forest outside of class, they will face the consequences." the Headmaster seemed unusually grave as he made his statement.

As the Professor sat back down, the talking broke out again instantly, Harry noticed two older students, a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff, each sitting at their own tables looking pale and tense. The people around those two seemed to be directing several questions at the two but they both were just shaking their heads and remaining tight lipped.

"I wonder if something dangerous has found it's way into the forest?" Hermione asked no one in particular.

* * *

Harry took a deep breath and straighten his robes, then double checked his Nimbus which he had spent last night polishing and removing any errant twigs.

"Gather round everyone!" Oliver shouted nervously. "Alright, the weather's not completely ideal, but it's still a bit better than last week."

His words were an understatement. The first Quidditch game of the term, between Slytherin and Hufflepuff was fought in horizontal rain, with the players being blown off course and even the spectators being assaulted by umbrellas that people couldn't keep a hold of. It had been the first time Harry was glad he wasn't playing Quidditch.

It was an unfortunately long match (another thing Harry never expected to think), that ended with a surprise victory for the Hufflepuff team, largely due to the fact that Cedric Diggory was a much heavier Seeker compared to Malfoy and had less trouble keeping on his broom.

"Ravenclaw have a couple of decent Chasers, so catching the Snitch quickly will be good for us." Oliver advised Harry with intense eyes. "We don't know how good a Seeker Chang is, so keep a close eye on her during the first few minutes..."

"We've been through all this during practice Oliver." Angelina rolled her eyes, then turned to their Seeker with a smile. "Harry, just relax and have fun, you'll do perfectly fine."

Oliver sputtered but was led onto the pitch by Fred and George. Harry quickly tapped his glasses with his wand while he muttered " _Impervius._ ", a handy little spell Hermione had taught him that allowed them to keep their faces, and in Harry's case glasses, dry. He stowed his wand away and followed the rest of the team out of the changing rooms and was met with a wall of sound, as the spectators cheered the arrival of the teams. As Oliver shook hands with the Ravenclaw captain Harry's sought out the only girl on the opposite team. Their eyes met and she gave him a little wink, causing Harry to blush brightly. Fred saw this and gave him a little nudge and smirked at him.

At the sound of the shrill whistle from Madam Hooch, both teams kicked off into the air at once. Harry looked around once to make sure the Snitch wasn't nearby then turned to follow Cho Chang with his eyes. Harry could tell she was pretty good on her broomstick, she had been a reserve Seeker until this year, when the regular player had graduated. Her robes were already wet with the rain and he could see-

"Harry! Keep moving around, will you! Look for the Snitch!" Oliver shouted from the goalposts.

Harry sped off as he realised he'd been floating in one spot just staring at the blue robed Seeker. Unfortunately it seemed that Oliver wasn't the only person to have noticed.

"Oh my, what's this?" Lee's voice echoed through the air. "It seems the Gryffindor Seeker is seeking something other than the Golden Snitch. Good luck to him! And a little bit of trivia for the rest of you, according to Hogwarts' Quidditch statistics, Seekers are the most likely to find romanc-"

"Jordan! Will you please keep your commentating to the game!" McGonagall shouted over him.

Harry blushed furiously and tried to ignore the laughter and catcalls, while avoiding even glancing in the direction of the other Seeker. Quarter of an hour later, there was still no sign of the Snitch and Ravenclaw was ahead by just a few goals. There was still plenty of time for the Gryffindor Chasers overtake their opponents, but Harry was starting to fel a little anxious, catching the Snitch was their best chance of winning the match.

"HARRY! THE SNITCH!" Oliver roared from behind and Harry saw Cho Chang speeding off towards the Gryffindor goalposts.

Silently berating himself for taking his eyes off the opposite Seeker for so long, he leaned flat against his broom and shot off after her. Fred managed to slow Cho down by aiming the Bludger at her as she shot pass, but after a quick look behind her she veered slightly to the left and shot forwards again. But George was flying towards the speeding Bludger his brother had hit and whacked it hard again, aiming straight for Cho.

There was a gasp from the crowd as Cho tried to dodge the black iron ball and it missed her body, but got tangled in her wet robes pulling her backwards and straight into Harry. Harry knew that she was fine, after all she was still on her broom and he really should have gone on to catch the Snitch. But he suddenly became very confused, Lee's words from a moment ago echoing in his ears. Before he knew what he was doing, his arms were out and he caught Cho from behind, the Bludger ripping her robes and flying away.

She turned to face him, looking embarrassed and annoyed and Harry let go as if he'd been burned. After an awkward pause they both looked towards the spot the Snitch had been a moment ago. It was already gone.

Madam Hooch's whistle sounded and Harry saw Oliver flying towards him. Harry avoided looking at Cho and went to meet the Captain. The rest of the team gathered around him and Harry was mortified by their reaction. Oliver was looking furious, which wasn't unexpected or even unwarranted, but Fred and George were holding on to each other and choking with laughter while the three Chasers were looking at him in a knowing way, a look that girls could do so well, making him feel more embarrassed than being laughed at.

"What-! Harry- Why?" Oliver said through gritted teeth, looking very much like he wanted to shout at him.

"I… I thought she was hit… It looked really bad from my angle." Harry lied, his face red. "It won't happen again… I'll catch the Snitch next time."

Oliver opened his mouth to say something then took a deep breath and closed it again. Madam Hooch flew towards them, "Are you done here Wood? Can I start the match again?"

Harry took one look at the referee and stifled a groan, she had that same look of amusement and was watching him with a grin. Oliver just nodded and after giving Harry a sharp glare, went back to his post.

Harry flew back towards the centre of the field, ignoring Fred and George gliding besides him and the amused commentary from Lee Jordan. It was only a few minutes after the match began again, that the Snitch showed itself once more near the bottom of the Gryffindor Quidditch stands. This time both Harry and Cho saw it at almost exactly the same time, they were on opposite sides of the field, but practically the same distance away from victory. Harry made a sharp turn, his fingers sliding against the wet broomstick and flew towards his target.

With the two Seekers approaching from two sides, the crowd and the players knew that this was the moment the Snitch was definitely going to be caught and the Chasers on both teams stopped flying and cheered their Seekers on. The Beaters, on the other hand, leapt into action and tried to knock them off their brooms. Harry saw a Ravenclaw player advance towards him with the bat raised from the corner of his eyes and when he swung his bat, Harry bobbed down while twisting in the air, and he felt the heavy metal lump graze against his leg. He then heard a dull thump and a cry of shock, but he dutifully ignored it this time and continued ahead. A few seconds later, the Golden Snitch was struggling against his fingers and a huge cheer erupted directly above him.

With a grin he raised his arm, showing his prize to the rest of the team and the spectators as Lee announced Gryffindor's victory. His smile faded slightly when he caught sight of Cho clutching her arm and being gently helped onto the ground by two of her teammates, but before he could do anything else he heard another shout.

"Harry! Watch out!" someone shouted above him.

He raised his head up and saw that several people were leaning out of the stands in order to catch a glimpse of the moment Harry caught the Snitch. He also saw Ginny frantically waving at him alongside someone else, it was Colin Creevey. It was only then that he saw something large and black falling right towards his head. As he moved his hand to grip his Nimbus, the Snitch flew off again, and then he twisted around to avoid the object. It fell past his eyes but his actions had inadvertently knocked it hard with the end of his broom. It arced through the air and went, unfortunately, directly into the path of an oncoming Bludger, which was making one final attempt to wreck havoc before it would be locked away in a box. The camera smashed into a hundred pieces as he heard Colin's moan of horror.

* * *

It took a while, but Harry could finally laugh about the little incident with the Ravenclaw Seeker with his friends. They had all teased him mercilessly about it, but the giggling, the _giggling_ was the worst. Now he just rolled his eyes whenever anybody mentioned Cho, but with a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, it had been pretty silly after all. He saw her a few times in the corridors, but since she was in a year above they didn't have much of a reason to be in the same place and Harry was happy to leave it at that. He only talked about her once, to Anthony, asking how she was. His friend bit his lip and tried not to grin, but thankfully didn't make any other comments. Anthony told him that although he didn't know the details, it was quite a serious injury and it seemed that she may be unable to play during Ravenclaw's next match.

Getting over the broken camera was a lot harder to do, despite the fact that everybody had told him repeatedly that it wasn't Harry's fault. Professor McGonagall had managed to repair it soon after the match ended, but given the fact that it had been Muggle-made, and it was without any of the charms that usually accompanied such a delicate object when made by Wizards, there was lasting damage that could not be completely fixed. Although it still took some photos, it would sometimes spontaneously fizz or smoke, which undoubtedly led to photographs that were completely blank, if the roll of film managed to survive at all.

Colin had adamantly refused Harry's offer of paying for the cost of replacing it, agreeing with everyone else that he shouldn't have been leaning so far forwards trying to take a picture and that it was his fault he lost his grip on the camera. While Harry agreed with Colin, he couldn't help but feel that if he hadn't launched it into the path of the Bludger, the camera wouldn't have been as badly damaged as just landing on the ground, or even onto his head.

It was with these thoughts that he sat with a group of Gryffindor second years, trying to keep his head down and getting some of his homework done as Ron and Hermione were spending time in Hogsmeade trying to do some shopping for Christmas. It had been immensely awkward when he first sat down with Colin and his friends, but he felt he couldn't really refuse when the second year boy had asked him to. Thankfully, Ginny was there running interference, sharply clearing her throat whenever someone spent too long gawking openly at Harry or quickly changing the subject whenever someone asked something he felt uncomfortable talking about.

Eventually the initial fascination of sitting with Harry Potter died down and they followed his example, mostly getting work done, sitting silently with a book or otherwise talking to each other in quiet whispers.

"Harry." Ginny said quietly, the eagle quill gripped in her fingers. "Could you have a look at this for me?"

She pushed over the piece of parchment she was working on, and Harry looked at it uncertainly. Reading a few lines, he realised it was an essay that he had done last year for Professor Dumbledore, for his Defence Against the Dark Arts class. He was sure if it had been homework for something like Potions or History of Magic, he would have just embarrassed himself by trying to help her. With the tiniest sigh of relief he whispered some corrections for a few mistakes and told her about another Jinx that was quite effective and worth mentioning.

She thanked him quietly and starting scribbling away on the parchment. After a few minutes the scraping noise stopped and she turned to Harry again, "Mum sent another letter asking if you were coming over for Christmas."

Harry finished the sentence he was writing and looked around the table, the rest of the second years were all occupied and weren't paying attention to him or Ginny. "I don't know..."

He wanted to go, he really did. In the span of two short years, the Weasleys had become more family to him than the Dursleys and the Christmas he spent at the Burrow last year had been the best Christmas he ever had. It was the thought of putting on the Nullificare Charm again that brought a shiver down his spine and doubts as to whether it was worth spending the holidays with his best friend.

Harry wasn't sure he'd be good company while he was wearing the charm. Although it prevented him from feeling full blown anger, it didn't stop mild annoyances and he often found himself being quite short with his aunt and uncle. He spent the weeks either snapping at them while he cleaned the house or lying face down on his bed, feeling somewhere between lethargic and dead, unresponsive to Uncle Vernon's threats when he hadn't done the chores they assigned him. He didn't really want to put the Weasleys through either of those versions of himself.

He also didn't want them to know how bad it really was. He had smashed a fair number of dishes when his hands started to shake out of nowhere and he had to sit down on the floor with his head between his knees, with his soapy hands gripping the back of his head until the dizziness passed. He could easily imagine Mrs. Weasley's reaction if they ever found him like that, as well as what Hermione would put him through once they arrived back at Hogwarts for the new term. In the end he had put his name down to say he would be remaining at Hogwarts, but Professor McGonagall, sensing his hesitation, had told him that he could still change his mind at the last moment if he wanted to go to the Burrow.

He had briefly discussed the situation with Remus and Hagrid when he visited them by himself during one of his free afternoons, while trying not to appear too anxious. He found them in the paddock next to the house, where they were caring over a winged horse. It turned out to be the same winged horse he had seen there during his first year, which he found was, unfortunately, very prone to accidents. However this time, as well as being mildly injured due to clumsiness, the horse was also very visibly pregnant and Harry stared in awe at the wondrous sight.

"Ah, good old Hippo." Hagrid had said fondly, stroking her mane. "I'd normally let her birth naturally with the rest of her herd in the forest but with her injury and the… ehem. Never mind."

Harry told them he thought it was a bit rude to call a pregnant lady, or horse in this case, a hippo but Remus explained, loudly over Hagrid guffawing, that it was a nick name and she was actually called Hippolyta.

When Harry slowly moved the conversation to the topic of Christmas, the two wizards exchanged a glance and tried to encourage him to leave the castle for the holidays, saying it would be good for him to be with his friends. He noticed in the following days that several of the other professors were subtly trying to convince the students to return home for Christmas as well.

"I… I know why you don't want to come… It's the Nullificare Charm, isn't it?" Ginny asked carefully, then added when she saw Harry's expression, "I was there with Ron when my parents were talking to Gideon..."

"Of course you were." Harry said more sharply than he intended, but quickly apologised when he saw Ginny flinch. "Sorry."

"You told Ron and Hermione that you were fine but… it's really bad isn't it?" Ginny asked, staring right into Harry's eyes.

"It isn't..." Harry started then sighed deeply, leaning back against his chair. "It's not great."

"It… it might be better if you spend time with people you like… Wasn't it better when you stayed the few days with Sirius?" Ginny asked gently.

Harry thought about it and she was right, he hadn't really realised how much better he felt with Sirius and on the train compared to when he was still at Privet Drive. "I guess so..."

Ginny looked relieved as Harry seemed to be responding positively to her words, "And mum and dad understand all that stuff about the charm, they spent ages questioning Gideon about it, they were really worried about you."

"Is Gideon going to be there?" Harry asked suddenly. He thought that maybe he could ask the man himself, maybe find out if there was a way to ease the horrible side effects. Asking Mrs. Weasley would be just as bad as collapsing in front of her and she probably wouldn't let him out of her sight until the end of the holidays.

"He's going with Kasper to spend time with his family." Ginny replied. "But… I think he might be visiting the day before we come back to school. I would ask him but since we're leaving tomorrow..."

"Erm… no, it's fine." Harry really didn't like the idea of someone changing his holiday plans, just for him.

"I'll send an owl when we get to the Burrow… and I won't mention you, don't worry. We spend most Christmases together so it's not really weird of me to ask." Ginny said reassuringly.

For a minute Harry sat in silence, mulling over what Ginny had said, before coming to a decision. "No, you don't need to do that. I'll… go tell McGonagall I won't be staying at Hogwarts over Christmas."

If Gideon was there, he'd talk to him and if he wasn't too bad, but he hoped Ginny was right and that spending time with people he loved would help. Harry left Ginny, who was smiling brightly at him, to finish her homework and made his way to his head of house.

Early next morning, after he stuffed himself full of chocolate that Ron had bought for him in Hogsmeade, he stood in front of Professor McGonagall's office and knocked on the door.

"Enter." Harry pushed the door open waited for the Professor to finish what she was working on. She looked up from the parchment and gave Harry a nod as he pulled out the little silver bottle from his pocket.

"Shall I just put it on then?" Harry asked feeling tense.

"...Yes." she replied with a hint of pity in her voice. Harry took a deep breath and quickly pulled it down his head and around his neck. He shuddered, but it didn't seem that bad, not yet anyway, and the chocolate seemed to have helped somewhat. Harry faced his Professor with an expression asking if there was anything else when she said, "Mr. Potter, personally I think you are making the right decision. Being with Mr. Weasley and his family will keep your mind off the… that thing. However, if you have any trouble with it, please do not hesitate to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, they'll be able to help you more than your aunt or uncle could."

"I will Professor." Harry answered, but couldn't honestly see himself doing that.

McGonagall nodded. "Very well, I shall see you next year then. Merry Christmas Mr. Potter."

"Merry Christmas, Professor." Harry answered as he left her office.

* * *

Thank you for the reviews, it's always lovely he hear for you!


	19. Year 3 - Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **A Charming Christmas**

Harry tried to keep his mood light on the train back to King's Cross, he threw himself into a game of exploding snap with Ron, Ernie and Ginny, laughing a bit too forcefully when his eyebrows got singed off. He could feel Hermione's eyes staring at the back of his head, but didn't give her much of a chance to talk to him, he played more games, chatted loudly and when the trolley witch came over, bought far too much sweets to share with the rest of the compartment.

After his seventh Chocolate Frog, Harry stared out the window, watching the snowy landscape of Scotland melt into green as they made their way south. The rhythmic sound of the train, alongside his full stomach as well as the weight hanging around his neck was making him feel like he was going to fall asleep.

"-rry. Harry?" Hermione placed her hand gently on Harry's arm and he turned to look at her. The rest of the compartment seemed to be staring at him as well.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What did you say?" Harry blinked tiredly.

"Are you…" Hermione trailed off. Harry knew what she was about to say, but she knew how annoyed he became when she talked about the charm or asked if he was feeling 'okay'. "I mean… Did Sirius say why he was at the school?"

He let out a snort of amusement as he remembered the Auror's words. "He said something about bringing holiday cheer to an old werewolf."

Harry had been surprised to find the man walking towards the school gates when he was making his way to Hogsmeade station with his friends. Sirius wasn't alone either, he was with three others, a wizard and two witches all dressed in plain robes, looking no different than the residents of Hogsmeade. But Harry noticed that other than a slight smile they allowed for the Hogwarts students, their expressions were hard set in determination, as if they were a group on a mission.

Sirius waved the others ahead and walked towards Harry to ask how he was. Hermione ushered the rest of the group away, giving Harry a bit of privacy, perhaps hoping Harry would talk to Sirius about things he wasn't willing to share with his friends. With a roll of his eyes he told the Auror that he was fine, to which the man simply nodded, but then he started to give Harry some advice, almost like a parent would. Eat well even if you don't feel too hungry, rest if you're feeling tired, keep busy with your friends and all that. With a slight blush Harry told the man that he would and asked what he was doing here.

Alongside that vague reply concerning Remus, he also mentioned that he and his 'friends' were here to do something for the Headmaster, but didn't go into any details.

"Something for the Headmaster?" Sue pondered. "I wonder what it is..."

"It must be for the same reason the professors are having us keep away from the forest… some creature must have gotten loose in there." Ron said excitedly.

"I think you're right," Hermione agreed. "Sirius is an Auror and the others definitely looked like they could handle themselves."

When Ron mentioned the forest, Harry remembered something. "Ernie, the day after they woke us all up, I remember someone from the Hufflepuff table being asked a load of questions from the people around him. He had dark hair… and he looked older, must have been a sixth or seventh year."

"Oh yeah, I think I know who you're talking about. His name's Phil… or Paul or something like that, he's in his seventh year. He wasn't in the common room when Professor Sprout got there the night before..." Ernie said thoughtfully.

"Did he say anything? About something in the forest maybe?" Harry leaned forwards in interest.

"Hmm… All I heard is that Professor Sprout put him in a load of detentions. If he saw anything, he's not really talking about it." Ernie shrugged.

"If there really is something in the forest… I think the professors would probably want to keep it quiet and not cause a panic amongst the students." Hermione said quietly.

"I wonder, how dangerous is this creature, that the Headmaster called in an Auror, or even four, to take care of it?" Ron wondered aloud.

The compartment fell into silent contemplation and Harry eventually dozed off. He slept peacefully until he was eventually startled awake when Ron poked him in the head ("Ronald, you shouldn't wake people like that!") and Harry's blinking eyes found that they had arrived at King's Cross. Ernie wished them a Merry Christmas and gave Sue a slight squeeze of her hand before making his way to his waiting parents.

Ron's parents were waiting outside the barrier, amicably chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Mr. Weasley seemed far too engrossed in his conversation with the two dentists, but Mrs. Weasley noticed them coming. "Oh, there you are!"

The twins were taking some time getting there, so they stood there for a while the adults asked if they had a nice term. Fred and George eventually turned up, "Sorry we're late Mum."

She sent them an annoyed glare before turning to Mrs. Granger, "Well, we're all here. I'll see the girls in… oh just over a week?"

"If you're sure it won't be too much trouble..." Mrs. Granger replied. Sue's family didn't really celebrate Christmas so she was planning on spending Christmas with the Grangers. Hermione and Sue were planning on coming to the Burrow to stay a few days before the start of term.

"Oh, not at all. The more the merrier!" Mrs. Weasley beamed a smile at her, and as if to emphasise her remark, her fond gaze swept over the eight children gathered around them.

Harry said goodbye to the Grangers and Sue, then Mr. Weasley led them to a light blue car, that looked far too small to fit in their considerable group. He was astonished to find that it had been charmed so that they could all climb in and sit quite comfortably, causing Harry to blurt out, "Magic is brilliant.", while everyone gave him an amused look.

Mr. Weasley was, thankfully, a much better driver than Sirius and Harry managed to relax into his seat, cycling between a light slumber and wakefulness until they reached the Burrow. They cheerfully entered the dining room where a large platter of sandwiches and a jug of pumpkin juice was waiting for them, a little something Mrs. Weasley had prepared before leaving this morning. Harry managed half a sandwich before nodding off into his plate, so the Weasley matron led him to Ron's room, where he collapsed onto the bed and instantly fell asleep.

* * *

"Godt nytår!" Gideon and Kasper shouted merrily as they entered the already bustling Weasley household. Gideon added cheekily, "To all those too uncultured to understand, Happy new year!"

The Weasleys laughed and all went to welcome the guests, Hermione, Sue and Harry were staying back to give the family some time alone, but they were quickly waved over. Harry and Hermione were greeted as warmly as any one of the red-heads.

"This is Sue." Ron simply introduced her to his uncle and his partner.

"Hello Sue. I'm Gideon. This is Kasper." he said nudging the man standing next to him. Then he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively at Ron. "Hmm… another girlfriend..."

Sue snorted and giggled, while Ron sputtered at his uncle's remark. Mrs. Weasley smiled at them, "Gideon, stop teasing. Kasper, are you hungry? The roast should be done in about ten minutes. Fred, George! You two come help me in the kitchen."

She marched the groaning twins into the kitchen and the others sat down and listened to the two wizards talk about their time with Kasper's family. Hermione listened in fascination as they talked about wizarding culture outside of Britain, directing quite a few questions towards them and they ended up having quite a lively discussion about the magical communities in Europe. Everyone had something to say, even Ron and Ginny. Harry was surprised but perhaps he shouldn't have been, after all, they had grown up surrounded by wizards. Harry, on the other hand, barely knew anything about Muggle Europe, and even less about the magical counterpart. He stayed quiet but listened carefully, trying to ignore his growing anxiety from wanting to ask the two healers about the little bottle hanging against his chest.

They were called into the dining room and they enjoyed the most succulent roast beef Harry had ever tasted, as well as Yorkshire puddings, a large mound of roasted vegetables all topped with intensely delicious gravy poured liberally around his plate. As soon as everything was dished out, the twins turned to Kasper and the conversation turned to his old school and the upcoming Triwizard Tournament.

"Come on, Kasper. You must have some sort of idea on what kind of stuff they're planning on the tasks for next year..." Fred insisted, pointing his fork at the wizard.

"Don't point with your cutlery!" Mrs. Weasley said sharply.

Kasper chuckled, "So you're planning on putting your name into the fire then?"

Fred and George both nodded with determination, while Harry voiced a question. "What do you mean, 'into the fire'?"

"That's how you get chosen as Champion, the Goblet of Fire." George explained.

"What's a Goblet of Fire? I thought it was the professors who decided?" Harry asked.

"The professors only decide who has enough potential not to be killed while competing," Fred said impatiently. "everyone that has a professor's permission puts his or her name into the Goblet, and then one name is chosen out of all of those."

"So, it's a bit like the Sorting Hat? It decides impartially, without any input from other witches or wizards?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I guess so." George shrugged.

"Well, if it had any sense it wouldn't pick either one of you..." Mrs. Weasley sniffed. "It was bad enough when Bill was picked as Champion, but you two…"

"They've been actually working quite hard this year, I've seen them in the library more times this term than I have the last two years." Hermione said with approval.

"Really?" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened in shock.

"Enough of your diabolical accusations, Hermione! We have a reputation to uphold!" Fred said with a flair, causing the rest of the table to laugh.

"We're not the only ones though, are we?" George said with a grin. "I've heard you lot are all working on your hexes and jinxes as well."

"You mean..." Gideon gestured with his arm at Ron, Hermione, Sue and Harry, who all simply nodded apart from Ron, who blushed slightly and turned away from his mother, who was quickly going very pale.

"Ronald Weasley, I absolutely forbid you…! You'll only be fourteen, absolutely not!" Mrs. Weasley stood up, shouting at her youngest son.

Before Ron could retort angrily, if his expression was anything to go by, Gideon spoke up, "Molly, it sounds like they're just practising a few spells, there's nothing wrong with that. Besides, if they're not ready, McGonagall definitely won't allow them to compete."

Ron gave his uncle a grateful nod and Molly Weasley seemed somewhat appeased at the reminder of her former head of house. "Yes… well I suppose..."

"So what's Durmstrang like, Kasper?" Hermione quickly said to ease the tension.

Kasper chewed on some beef with a thoughtful expression. "It's… a cold place, high up in the mountains. Stunning views and... the school nurse is very good at growing digits."

"Digits?" Sue asked, looking confused.

"There's always one or two students that wander around in winter without sufficient protection and frostbite can be extremely nasty." Kasper said with a chuckle.

There was a wince from the others as they imagined how cold it must be to lose a finger or a toe. Harry asked, "Where is it though?"

"That's something I can't tell you." the wizard replied. "The moment I stepped through the doors of the castle a little curse was placed on me, preventing me, or any other students going through there from revealing the location to any outsiders."

"That sounds a little extreme." Ron said, looking slightly shocked.

"Yes, it was and so they stopped doing it a few years after I graduated." Kasper said, nodding his agreement. "The whole European Ministry that was set up brought about closer ties between the schools. I could get the curse removed if I really wanted to, but it's honestly not worth the trouble."

"It sounds like... quite the place." Hermione said carefully. Harry thought that was a nice way of saying it sounded like a terrible school.

Kasper seemed to know what they were thinking, but laughed. "I know it doesn't sound so appealing, compared to what you have at Hogwarts, but I'd never trade my years there to go anywhere else."

And so he told them stories of his school days, about the stark castle that housed a surprising amount of warmth, of friendships made and broken, of adventures had. Harry smiled as it reminded him of Sirius and Remus talking about their time at Hogwarts alongside his father. They eventually finished their meal and when it was cleared away a large cake and a pot of tea was summoned from the kitchen. Harry was too full for the cake but sat there sipping a cup of tea.

"-Harry." someone called him.

Harry looked around. Ron was huddled together with his twin brothers, attempting to extract any information they could out of the former Durmstrang student. Hermione, on Harry's other side, was deep in conversation with Sue and Percy, it seemed they were continuing their discussion of European Wizarding politics they had started earlier. Ron's parents and Gideon seemed to be laughing about something, but Harry couldn't hear the details. Ginny was the only one looking at him from across the table, "Ginny, wha-"

"-Harry Potter!" the voice was a bit louder this time, but it hadn't been Ginny calling him, unless she had the ability to talk with her mouth firmly closed. Her eyes, however, widened and she pointed towards her own stomach.

"What-? Oh!" Harry suddenly stood up, causing everyone to stop talking and stare at him.

"Harry, dear? Are you alright?" Mrs. Weasley asked worriedly.

"It's just this..." Harry put his hands into the large pocket on the front of the jumper he was wearing and pulled out a mirror. "It's just Sirius."

"Oh, that's nice. Wish him a happy new year from us, will you?" Mrs. Weasley smiled with relief as Harry nodded and excused himself from the table.

"Sirius?" Harry said as he climbed up the stairs making his way to Ron's room, where he was staying. The surface flashed and the Auror's face glimmered into view. He was looking very cheerful and his face broke into a wider grin when he saw Harry.

"There you are! How've the Weasley's been treating you!" Sirius beamed at him, his words slightly slurred and a little too loud. It seemed he'd begun the new year enjoying a drink.

Harry grinned back, "We've been great, Mrs. Weasley wishes you a happy new year. How's the werewolf-"

"SIRIUS BLACK!" a voice roared from the mirror and Sirius almost dropped his. "What have you been telling Harry?"

"Who-"

Sirius ignored Harry and defensively turned to the voice behind him, "I haven't told him anything!"

"What-"

"What's he going on about werewolves then!" Sirius moved to the side and Harry recognised the booming voice had been coming from Hagrid. It seemed that they were at Hagrid's place, and the giant man seemed to be quite inebriated as well, the patches of skin Harry could see through his beard was flushed a dark red. Sirius placed the mirror on the table and left Harry to go argue with Hagrid. Someone else peeked around the side and looked at Harry.

"Hi Remus, how are you?" Harry smiled.

"We're all good." Remus gestured apologetically at Sirius and Hagrid, "Sorry about that, they've had a few drinks."

"I guessed." Harry laughed.

"So what were you saying about werewolves?" Remus asked casually and the argument fell silent, waiting for Harry's answer.

"Oh, Sirius said he was bringing holiday cheer to a werewolf, I thought he was referring to you." Harry said with an amused look.

"Right! That's what I said." Sirius exclaimed. "I told you Hagrid!"

"Hmph." Hagrid replied with a snort.

"How did the thing with the Headmaster go?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, it was fine." Sirius waved his hand dismissively. "How have you been Harry?"

"It's been great actually. I'm glad I came here for the holidays. Thanks for the presents by the way." Harry added. The three wizards on the other side of the mirror hadn't yet forgotten to send him a gift for Christmas or his birthday.

"It's our pleasure, Harry." Remus said, with Sirius laughing and Hagrid sniffling in the background. "How are you holding up with the charm then?"

"It's been much better, thanks." Harry answered truthfully.

"That's good to hear." Remus said kindly.

"Ron's uncle works with these," Harry touched the bottle over his shirt. "and I'm hoping to ask him a little bit about it."

"Prewett, right?" Sirius scratched his ear.

"Yeah, Gideon Prewett. Do you know him?" Harry asked the Auror.

"Not personally, but I know a few people that he helped. They say he's a good Healer, a good man." Sirius nodded.

Harry heard the faint sound of knocking and Hagrid stood up and walked out of Harry's sight. "That's probably Tom and Minerva, I asked them to come down for a drink."

"I should get back to everyone as well, I'll see you back at Hogwarts then and Sirius, I'll keep in touch." Harry tapped the surface of the mirror.

"See you, Harry." Remus smiled.

"Yes, call me if you need anything! Anything, Harry!" Sirius said, pushing his grinning face right up to the mirror before the imaged flashed away.

Harry gave a content little sigh and smiled. He fell back on the bed he'd been sitting on, wondering if it would be rude to just sleep for a few hours, when there was a soft knock on the door. When Harry sat up and called out, the door opened and Ginny poked her head inside.

"Have you finished with Sirius?" Ginny asked and Harry nodded. "It's about Gideon and Kasper… what we talked about before?"

"Oh right." he stood up. "Where are they? Are they leaving?"

"No, they're standing just behind me… Erm…" Ginny looked apologetic, "I couldn't stop Ron, Hermione and Sue from following us up either… do you mind…?"

"It's fine, they can all come in if they want." Harry was feeling too good right now to argue with his friends and maybe it would get Hermione off his back if she was there when he questioned Gideon.

They must have been listening, because as soon as Harry got the words out the door was pushed open and his friends all entered the room, which was crowded by the time Kasper softly closed the door behind him. Gideon and Kasper walked over to the bed, telling Harry to stay seated, while the others tried to make themselves comfortable on the floor. They tried to appear uninterested in what Harry and the healers were discussing and were all giving Fenlutus, whom Ron had brought up with him, treats and scratches on her belly, but they were sneaking glances in Harry's direction, Hermione especially. It seemed ridiculous, since unless Harry and the wizards huddled into the furthest corner and whispered, his friends were going to be able to hear everything they said.

"Thanks Kas." Gideon said, when Kasper carefully lifted the Nullificare Charm with one hand. Gideon then began to mutter under his breath while pointing his wand at the bottle. "Ginny tells me you've been sleeping quite a lot. Have you had any other problems since putting this on?"

"Um..." Harry glanced at his friends sitting in the corner, who all looked away the moment their eyes met. Maybe having his friends in the room was not such a good idea.

"Hmm..." Gideon saw where Harry was looking and didn't press him any further. "Okay, I'm going to try something and it's probably going to feel quite unpleasant. Are you ready?"

"O...okay." Harry said nervously. A look of concentration appeared on Gideon's face as he pointed his wand at the bottle again. Nothing happened for a moment then Harry's vision went dark. He blinked awake a moment later, feeling an extreme wave of nausea and his whole body was shaking so much, he would have fallen off the bed if Kasper wasn't holding him up.

"What's wrong with him? What did you do?" Hermione's shrill voice came loudly from behind Gideon.

Gideon ignored her for the moment and pointed his wand at Harry's head, whispering a spell, that made him feel much better. "Harry, can you hear me?"

Harry gave a shaky nod but didn't want to open his mouth in case he vomited. Kasper carefully let him go and conjured a glass and filled it with water before handing it over to Harry. He took a few sips then slowly opened his mouth. "Wh… what was that?"

Gideon gave a grimace of apology. "Sorry, I was trying to see how far I could push it. I had to determine how well it was made. I don't think I've ever seen one this incompetently put together..."

"I don't understand..." Hermione said, slightly more calmer than before. Harry saw his friends hovering anxiously behind Gideon and Kasper.

"They're a bit like wands, in that no two are exactly the same. But unlike a wand, made from a single core and a bit of wood, these are made with several core components and layered with multiple charms on top of each other. Combine bad ingredients with an incompetent wizard, you'll get a charm that does more than stop accidental magic. It might also be incredibly old, they're much better at making these now." Gideon tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"But… why would they give him such a ("Ron, don't swear!") one?" Ron demanded.

"They would never retire one unless it proved fatal or something. As I've just said, they're extremely complicated to manufacture and the components aren't cheap either. The method is also kept a tightly guarded secret by the British Ministry." Gideon explained.

"But… it's made to help people, surely it would be better if the knowledge was public, if more people could work on improving it?" Hermione frowned.

Kasper gave Hermione a sad smile, "Politics. To them it's more than just about helping people. I don't know how true they are, but there have been rumours flying around for decades about dangerous research stemming from these charms. Not surprising really, since all the work on these things come from the Department of Mysteries."

Harry spat out a bit of water, "Department of Mysteries?"

"It does sound a bit ridiculous doesn't it?" Gideon laughed. "Nobody really knows what they do there. The only reason we know they work on the Nullificare and Affirmare Charms is because they have to work with healers to decide who gets them. I had no idea I'd be working with an Unspeakable until Dumbledore approached me..."

"Dumbledore? And what's an Unspeakable?" Harry wondered if Sirius had been right, it wasn't the Minister of Magic that had decided to give him this, but Albus Dumbledore.

"Unspeakables work in the Department of Mysteries." Gideon explained, "They can't speak about their work, hence the name."

"But Dumbledore… I thought he worked for the Department of International Magical Cooperation?" Sue asked with a frown.

"No, not him. His daughter, Kendra. A Ravenclaw through and through that one..." Gideon shook his head. Harry tried to think back to his first year at Hogwarts, when he had met Kendra Dumbledore. All he could remember about her was that she had seemed a little strange, but not unkind. His attention came back to the present when Gideon addressed him, "Harry, are you up for trying something else now?"

"Er..." Harry hesitated.

"It won't be as bad as last time, I promise you." Gideon said encouragingly.

"Okay." Harry finally said, "Can I just ask… what's going to happen this time?"

"We won't be activating it this time, don't worry. Do you have your wand with you?" Gideon said.

"My wand?" Harry pointed at a messy table. He didn't really have a reason to carry it around with him when he was at the Burrow. Kasper walked over to pick it up and handed it over to him. "I thought I couldn't use magic with this on?"

"That's a commonly held misconception, accidental magic is fuelled by emotion which is what the charm is preventing. It'll be more difficult, but you should still be able to use spells with a wand." Gideon turned to Ginny, Ron, Sue and Hermione. "Okay, you're technically not allowed to use spells outside of school so don't tell anyone what we're doing here, alright? Now, try a simple Levitation Charm..."

Gideon took a quill out of his robes and placed it on the bed. Harry gave him an uncertain look before raising his wand, " _Wingardium Leviosa._ "

To his surprise, the quill twitched slightly before lifting just an inch into the air. He tried a few more times but couldn't get it to go any higher and he was beginning to feel the start of a headache. Gideon said softly, "Try and hold it there as long as you can. Kas?"

Kasper gently picked up the bottle from around Harry's neck and Gideon crouched down pointing his wand at it again. "Gideon, be careful… If they find it's been tampered with..."

"I know, don't worry." Gideon replied quietly, before he began to mutter under his breath again. Harry tensed, preparing for the worst, but relaxed when he didn't feel anything happen, in fact the mild headache he was feeling seemed to be going away and the quill rose up another inch.

"You can stop now Harry." Gideon lowered his wand and tsked. "I don't think I can do anything more without it being too noticeable..."

"What did you do?" Harry asked, as the quill dropped onto the bed.

"There are a few charms on that the healers who work with these are taught how to manipulate, so I tried to re-work some of them." he shook his head regrettably. "I honestly don't think I've been able to do much… but anything more and I'm worried I they might be able to detect it and Kas is right, it'll be trouble for both of us if they do."

"But… it might stop some of the… side effects?" Harry asked quietly.

"Maybe… I can't be sure… I can try what we did before? No, I thought not." Gideon scratched his head. "I'll tell you what, I'll try and get in touch with Dumbledore, Kendra I mean, and see if I can find you a replacement or get an Unspeakable to try and fix it up a bit."

"No, you don't need to do that." Harry said quickly.

"It's no trouble at all, honestly." Gideon patted his shoulder.

"It's not that… erm… I don't want… I don't want Dumbledore, Albus I mean, finding out anything… There… erm… I…" Harry didn't really know how to explain his suspicions about the older wizard, without mentioning Sirius, which he didn't want to do in case he got the Auror into trouble at his workplace.

Gideon blinked at him, looking slightly confused but said gently, "Okay, I won't. But… you can owl me if you change your mind. She is an Unspeakable so technically she shouldn't mention anything to her father and honestly, I don't think she would."

"I'll… think about it." he said without much enthusiasm, Harry didn't think it was be a good idea, he honestly just wanted Albus Dumbledore to forget he even existed.

"Right then, we'll leave you to rest. Unless there's anything else you want to ask?" Gideon stood up from his crouching position and stretched.

Harry thought for a moment. "I don't think so..."

The two wizards nodded and just as they were about to leave the room Hermione and Sue followed them out, "Mr. Prewett, erm Gideon I mean. Can we ask a few..."

The door closed, muffling the rest of Hermione's sentence. Ron looked at Harry, "Are you feeling tired? Do you want to sleep?"

"No, I'm okay for the moment. How about a game of chess?" Harry offered, his mind still feeling slightly alert.

"I'll never turn down a game of chess." Ron grinned. "Ginny you can play the winner."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm not playing you, Ron. I'll play Harry after you beat him."

"Hey!" Harry said indignantly. "I might win..."

"Yeah and the Chudley Cannons might come top of the League..." Ginny said gesturing at the bright orange that covered the walls of her brother's room.

"Hey!" Ron's outrage left the other two laughing.

* * *

Harry massages his aching shoulder before opening the door, then he froze. He watched as Ron was hit with a red flash, his wand dropping, his limp body falling back until he hit the floor. He turned his head slightly and saw Ernie there, standing opposite the red-head, his wand still raised.

"Wha… what did you do!" Harry shouted and ran into the room. "Ro-"

"Harry?" Harry jumped at the quiet voice from behind him, spinning around to face Sue standing there, eyebrows raised in amusement.

" _Rennervate._ " Harry spun around again and saw Hermione standing over Ron with her wand pointed at the unconscious boy, who was beginning to stir. Looking more closely, he saw that Ron lying on a small pile of cushions.

"Oh. Were you practising spells?" Harry murmured sheepishly.

"Yeah, Stunning Spells..." Ernie said. "Sorry if we startled you."

"Ugh, we need to find a better way to do this..." Ron muttered as he stood up, then he saw his friend, "Harry! When did you get here?"

"Just now..." Harry sighed and slumped onto a chair.

"Oliver pushing you hard?" Ron asked with a sympathetic voice.

"Yeah… even though our next match isn't for another month..." Harry stretched his back. "Anyway, can I try this spell?"

"Sure, just hold on a moment… Okay, have a look at this first..." Hermione took out a book, a very thick book, and gave it to Harry, opening it to somewhere in the middle.

"Erm… what's this?" Harry squinted at the writing.

"It's about the spell, the history and theory, stuff like that. I thought it might be a good idea to read about it before we go around using it on each other." Hermione said patiently.

Harry stared at her. "Do I have to read this now?"

"She made us all read it before we tried to use the spell." Ron grinned. "Might as well get started Harry, there's no use arguing with her."

Harry turned to Hermione again who gave him an encouraging nod and left him with the book. Harry pushed his glasses up and stared at the pages, ' _...known use of this spell, with the incantation Stupefy, was_ _during the eleventh century by… …commonly throughout history with varying wand movements and incantations, although the effect of the spell… …render unconscious the...'_ Harry groaned and closed the book, feeling as if he was going to be rendered unconscious if he didn't stop reading. He dropped the book on the table behind him and turned to his friends, his hands raised defensively when Hermione looked at him. "I promise I'll read it, but not right now… I'll just sit here and watch you..."

"I need to return the book to the library tomorrow morning..." she said with a small frown.

"I'll read it before I go to bed, don't worry." Harry replied and leaned back. Hermione, who already seemed to be able to use the spell quite proficiently, was helping the others. Ernie was pretty decent, but his wand visibly hesitated when he stood against Sue, who was the opposite of Ernie and she appeared uncomfortable when she was up against anyone else. Ron was enthusiastic but his aim was often wide by a few inches, missing his target more than he hit. One of these stray spells hit a shelf, causing several text books to come crashing down onto the floor. Ron just grinned apologetically until the door burst open and they came face to face with a very irritated looking Filch.

"Spells! Spells outside the classroom? Detentions for all of you!" Filch snarled at the students.

"We have permission from Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick to be here!" Hermione said sharply, not backing down from the furious caretaker.

Filch narrowed his eyes at her, "You have permission to use spells? On each other? Damaging school property? Sounds like you were duelling to me..."

"W...We have permission to practice spells." Hermione repeated, suddenly sounding slightly unsure. "You can ask the professors."

"...Well it's late and I need to clear your mess, so get out!" Filch snapped at them, and so they quickly left the room.

They made their way to the Great Hall. Sue and Ernie went to their own tables and the three Gryffindors sat down next to Fred and George, who were looking extremely exhausted, with their foreheads pressed against the table. Ron decided to comment on this, "You two look terrible."

When they only let out a feeble groan in reply, Harry was worried. "Are you okay? Why did Oliver keep you behind?"

"It's because we missed Quidditch practice last week..." one of the twins mumbled. Harry remembered the incident, they had been trying out a new spell, the results of which were bad enough that they had to spend the night in the hospital wing. The morning after hadn't been much better for them, when an irate Quidditch Captain and a Howler from Mrs. Weasley left their ears ringing for much of the day.

"He kept us behind and threw Bludgers at us, left, right and centre using his bloody wand… ugh… training? Torture is a better word for it." the other twin groaned miserably.

"I guess Oliver really wants to win the Quidditch Cup this year." Ron said casually, piling his plate with food.

Fred raised his head and glowered at his younger brother, "Well at this rate, the only way we're going to be on the winning team is if he attaches our corpses to the brooms with Sticking Charms…"

"Where is he?" Harry looked around the table.

"He was still at the pitch when we left him ten minutes ago..." Fred said shortly before he slammed his head back down again.

"It's a bit late isn't it? And the Quidditch pitch is quite close to the Forest..." Hermione said, sounding worried.

"He can just send some Bludgers flying if he's attacked." the twin replied irritably.

With Harry's Quidditch practise and the others learning how to stun people, they had arrived to dinner quite late and after they finished their food, they were amongst the last to leave. In the common room, Harry plopped down onto a comfortable chair and relaxed by the fire, while Hermione went up to her dormitory to put away her books. Ron was wandering the common room looking for Fenlutus.

"Hey, have you seen Fen?" Harry heard him ask someone.

"I haven't seen her since this morning..." came the reply.

Ron told Harry he was going to check their room and left him there. He was gone for only a few minutes when he sat heavily on the chair next to Harry. "She's not there…"

"I'm sure she's just wandering the castle with Crookshanks..." Harry mumbled sleepily. The two animals seem to get along very well, which in Harry's view was a good sign that their two owners would eventually stop bickering about their pets.

"No, Crookshanks is over there." Ron pointed at Ginny, who was sitting with the ginger cat in her lap, working on some homework.

"Maybe Ginny's seen her?" Harry offered. Although it was unusual, the mongoose seemed to spend some nights wandering the castle. Even though Ron would fret over his pet, she would always be curled up in his bed by the next morning.

"Yeah... I'll go ask her." Ron said as he stood up.

Harry felt himself dozing off when there was a shuffle from behind him, it was Hermione. "Harry, have you seen-."

"No I haven't." Harry grunted, annoyed at being woken up.

"Well, I gave it to you, only a few hours ago." Hermione snapped back.

"What are you talking about?" Harry looked at his friend in confusion.

"My book! The one you were reading? About the Stunning Spell?" Hermione had her hands on her hips and glared at him. "The one I said needed to be returned to the library tomorrow?"

Harry let out a groan when he finally registered what she was talking about. "I think I left it in the room when Filch kicked us out."

"What? How could you-" Hermione looked annoyed.

"I'll get it tomorrow morning before breakfast." Harry tried to reassure her.

"What if someone takes it? What if Filch took it?" her voice was getting higher by the second.

"Fine." Harry grunted as he stood up, glaring at his friend. "Fine, I'll go bring it back."

Hermione glared back but then her eyes moved to the clock on the wall. It was past curfew. "Oh… erm… maybe you should wait until tomorrow..."

"I said I'll go get it." Harry growled before leaving the common room, ignoring Hermione's protests behind him. He stalked the empty corridors and climbed down the stairs all the way down to the ground floor, all the while muttering to himself. "Just had to be the classroom furthest away from the Tower..."

As he stared at the portraits lining the walls, with their occupants dozing peacefully, he felt himself calm down and felt bad for snapping at Hermione. Homework was slowly piling up despite their study group and even looking up and attempting spells for the Triwizard Tournament had started to feel like an unwelcome extra chore. On top of that Oliver Wood was training them like a man possessed, and even thought the team only met up once a week, he felt worn out for several days afterwards.

He also stayed up late at night unable to sleep, worrying about the Nullificare Charm, which he had once again stowed, inside an old robe, deep inside his trunk. Summer seemed a lot closer this side of Christmas, but he hadn't contacted Gideon yet. Harry spent a month cautiously asking about the female Dumbledore to several people, including Sirius, Remus and even the witch's uncle Professor Aberforth Dumbledore, his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

It seemed that while several people knew who she was, due to her father being one of the most famous wizards alive, most people didn't actually know much about the witch herself. Her uncle obviously seemed fond of her and said pretty much the same thing Gideon did, that she was a witch in pursuit of knowledge, very much a Ravenclaw. Sirius had managed to get Harry to reveal why he wanted to know about Kendra Dumbledore and told him to be careful, but it seemed to be due to the fact of who her father was rather than because of her own character. When Harry asked Sirius if he should let Gideon contact her, he hesitantly told Harry to trust his own judgement, which he felt was no help whatsoever.

Harry sighed and opened the door to the classroom, lighting his wand on his way inside. He found the book exactly where he had left it. He had been lost in his thoughts on the way down, but now that he had gotten what he came for, he was suddenly very worried about being caught by a professor or Filch. He stepped lightly with the book under his arm, and quickly crossed the entrance hall feeling very exposed. He climbed up the stairs two at a time when he heard a sudden thump, which caused him to trip and drop the book noisily all the way to the bottom of the stairs.

He stood very still, not daring to make a noise but after a few seconds nothing seemed to happen. He quietly went back down, eyes darting all around him and just as he was about to reach the book, the door leading out of the castle slowly creaked open. He froze, crouched down, with his hand hovering over Hermione's book as he stared at the open door.

He saw a silhouette of a person, standing there rigidly with the full moon visible behind the figure and through the tall doors. The person took a single jerky step inside and Harry recognised the face when the light from a torch fell onto it. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Oliver?"

But after the step, the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain froze again, not responding to Harry's voice. Harry stood up and walked towards Oliver, who still appeared to be in his Quidditch robes. "Hey Oliver are you-"

Harry gasped and swore silently as he rushed to the young wizard. What he thought was a red robe was bare skin covered in blood. The upper half of his black school robes had been torn off and hanging off his shoulders, and as Harry got closer Harry could see a deep wound there, still spilling blood. Oliver Wood took another step forwards and he stumbled. Harry quickly jumped forwards and caught him in his arms, as he shouted for help.


	20. Year 3 - Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **The Collared Wolf**

Harry shouted until he was hoarse, while his shaking arms tried to lay the much heavier boy gently onto the floor. It felt like an excruciatingly long wait before someone turned up and he had never been more glad to see Filch's pouchy and suspicious face.

"He's hurt, he's bleeding, do something!" but the man stood there slack-jawed, staring at the two bloody students on the stone floor. He had his wand out but he held it in a limp grip and Harry realised that the man wasn't going to be any help, "Get a professor then! Get Madam Pomfrey! Please!"

The caretaker seemed to consider this a much more reasonable request and wheezed up the stairs. He was halfway up when someone appeared, "Headmaster! A student- hurt- blood-"

Professor Riddle nodded, rushing past Filch and towards Harry, who looked up gratefully towards the Headmaster. Riddle immediately knelt besides the unconscious boy, his wand already in his hand and started to sing softly under his breath. Harry opened his mouth, but Riddle gave him a sharp look, silencing him for the moment.

Harry waited anxiously, finally breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the harsh wounds close, not completely, but enough to stem the torrent of blood for now. The Headmaster stood up and turned around, "Argus, go to Professor McGonagall, tell her Oliver Wood has been injured and to meet us in the hospital wing."

Filch nodded once before setting off in an ungainly sprint. Professor Riddle then cast a silent spell, levitating Oliver away from the floor while he spoke. "Harry, I need you to run ahead to the hospital wing, alert Madam Pomfrey to the situation. Go!"

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He ran, faster then he had ever done inside the castle, refusing to stop until he reached the heavy doors gasping for breath. He pushed inside shouting for the school matron.

"This is no place to be sho-" Madam Pomfrey let out a screech of distress when she laid eyes on Harry. "Mr. Potter! Oh Sweet Merlin… What has happened to you?"

Harry pushed away the nurse's wand hovering over him and tried speak, "N...No… Not me… Oliver… Wood… Headmaster… coming..."

Harry barely managed the words but frantically pointed to the doors, hoping the witch would understand. She frowned momentarily before pulling him to the side, away from the entrance. "He's lost a lot a blood? Where was he hurt? Do you know what happened?"

Harry took a few more deep breaths before responding. "He had a really bad wound on his shoulder, the Headmaster managed to heal it, but not completely. I… I don't know what happened to him."

She gave a curt nod before turning away from him and hurried to prepare a bed as well as the potions she would also be needing very soon. Harry peered out into the corridor until he heard the quick tapping of feet on stone. Moments later he saw Oliver hovering into view with Professor Riddle behind him, his wand directing the unconscious student pass the open doors. Madam Pomfrey met them and helped Oliver into the bed. The nurse quickly trickled several potions down the boy's throat before turning to the savaged shoulder. She carefully sprinkled a silvery powder onto the wound before trickling a few drops of a potion on top of it, green smoke billowing on contact. Pomfrey and Riddle spoke in hushed whispers, Harry unable to make out anything they were saying.

"Mr. Potter." Harry jumped and turned around, he hadn't noticed Professor McGonagall approach. Harry mumbled something unintelligible and pointed her towards her injured student. Her eyes darted over him, but seemed satisfied that he wasn't actually hurt and quickly joined the Headmaster and matron.

The shock was slowly wearing off and Harry found himself feeling very tired. He leaned against the wall and slid down until he was on the floor, his head slumped against his knees. He closed his eyes and tried to banish the image of the wounded Oliver from his mind, without much success. Harry heard someone call his name, his eyes opened and he shot up to his feet and stumbled, barely managing to keep steady thanks to Professor Riddle's gentle grip on his arm. "Y… yes Professor? Will Oliver be okay?"

The Headmaster was wearing a reassuring smile, but his eyes held worry he couldn't quite hide. "He is stable for now, but we'll need to move him to St Mungo's for proper treatment. Professor McGonagall is contacting them now..."

"That… that's good right?" Harry asked hopefully.

Riddle nodded in reply, letting out a little sigh. "Harry, can you tell me what happened? Anything at all?"

"I really don't know… I… I came down to get a book I left in one of the classrooms… when I was passing the entrance hall I heard a thud and then..." Harry recounted how he had found Oliver, bloody and torn. He licked his dry lips and gagged when he tasted blood on his tongue. Riddle waved his wand over his face, cleaning the blood from it. "Th…thank you Professor. I… he was… he was at the Quidditch pitch… practising… I..."

"Harry, thank you. That's all I needed. Would you like to stay in the hospital wing overnight?" Harry violently shook his head and the Professor gave Harry's shoulder a tight squeeze. "Very well. Minerva, perhaps you should take him back to the common room..."

Harry once again failed to notice his head of house until she was besides them. She spoke to him gently, "Mr. Potter, come along."

They walked in silence until they were half way there. "Oh no, I… Professor… I left the book downstairs… It's due back in the library tomorrow!"

Harry started babbling, panicking worse than Hermione would over a forgotten piece of homework. Professor McGonagall tried to calm him down but he kept insisting that he needed to get the book back. "Alright Mr. Potter, we can go get the book."

When they reached the entrance hall, Harry's eyes went to the puddle of red near the entrance, and he looked down at his hands, which were still covered in dried blood. He shuddered and hid them under his arm. "Professor? Could you…?"

She summoned the book with her wand waved Harry ahead. When Harry entered the common room he found it in almost the same state as he left it. He stared for a moment, it felt like it had been ages since he left Hermione to find her book, but he realised it hadn't even been half an hour.

"HARRY!" Hermione's shriek made him jump out of his skin. Professor McGongall gently pushed inside and planted her feet firmly in front of Harry, stopping Ron and an extremely guilty looking Hermione from getting too close.

"Mr. Weasley, please help Mr. Potter up to your room. He needs his rest, so refrain from questioning him until tomorrow. Miss Granger, here is your book." she spoke quietly but sharply, before turning back to Harry. "Mr-, Harry, drink this before you go to bed. It's a Calming Draught, it will help you sleep."

Harry released a shaky hand that was still wrapped tightly around himself and took the potion McGonagall was holding. There was a gasp from his friends, as well a few curious housemates, who had seen his bloody hand. Now others were coming towards him, looking worried, but Professor McGonagall raised her hands and silenced the crowd.

"Come on Harry." Ron gently tugged his friend by the arm so Harry followed him, ignoring the stares but giving Hermione a weak smile.

"No, Mr. Potter is physically unharmed. I'm afraid it is Mr. Oliver Wood that has been attacked-" there was another gasp and Harry recognised one of the Weasley twins' voice, but Harry blocked out everything and climbed the stairs.

"Oliver was hurt? What hap-" Ron took one look at Harry's pale face and shut his mouth. "Never mind..."

He was incredibly grateful to Ron, who silenced Seamus and Dean with a glare and a growl, allowing Harry to go take a shower unimpeded. He stripped off his robes to find his chest was sticky with blood as well. He shuddered as he stepped into the hot water and scrubbed his hands and body until the water ran clear.

* * *

Harry woke up slowly, the events of last night not fully registering for a moment. He opened his curtains and found the dorm room empty, with the sun far too bright for a January morning in Scotland. He jumped out of his bed and quickly looked for some clothes. He stared at the robes he had been wearing last night, sticky with blood and kicked it under his bed, not wanting to look at it. He took out the only other set of robes that fit, absently thinking that he needed to get some new ones when he visited Diagon Alley in the summer.

He picked up his bag and rushed down the stairs, Snape wouldn't care what happened to him the night before and he certainly wouldn't hesitate to put him in detention for being late. He got to the common room and looked around, it seemed to be full of students. He was wondering if he'd mistaken the day when Ron and Hermione entered the common room, Ron looking extremely distressed. He quickly walked over to them, "What's going on? Why isn't everyone in class?"

"Oh, hi Harry." Hermione gave him a small smile. "They cancelled lessons this morning, I think the professors are searching the grounds, we've been told to stay inside the castle for the time being."

"Are you feeling better mate?" Ron asked, but he seemed distracted. "Lunch isn't for another hour, but I think I have some Chocolate Frogs left..."

"Yeah, erm, no I'm fine for food. Are you okay Ron?" Harry asked his friend.

Ron looked torn, he didn't want to trouble Harry but he seemed very concerned about something, "I…"

"It's Fenlutus." Hermione said instead, giving Ron a small nod. "We haven't seen her since yesterday and after what happened with Oliver..."

"We've been all over the castle but… I wanted to ask Professor McGonagall, but she isn't in her office… she must be searching the grounds with the rest of the professors..." Ron mumbled with worry. "If something happened to Fen, I..."

The red-head bit his lips and turned to climb out of the portrait again, but Harry stopped him. "Wait, I'll help you look. Let me just drop off my things."

For an hour they walked through the empty castle, most people seemed to be staying in their common rooms for now. Hermione had brought the map of Hogwarts they had made last year, double-checking for any places where a mongoose might hide. They took a moment from their search to go see how Oliver was doing, only to have Madam Pomfrey inform them that he had been sent to St Mungo's and the last she'd heard from the healers was that he was doing well.

Afterwards they went to the Hall, Hermione and Harry both trying to console a dejected Ron, promising him they would keep looking for his pet after they got some food. Several people stared at Harry when he stepped inside, they had obviously heard about what happened last night, and that he had been the one to find Oliver. Harry ignored them and sat down amongst the Gryffindor students, who all looked miserable. Oliver Wood, despite his daemonic demeanour during Quidditch practise, was a very popular student.

Harry was feeling hungry, having missed breakfast, and quickly shovelled the fish and chips into his mouth. Ron on the other hand, was pushing the food around his plate, taking a single bite only when his friends encouraged him to. After a while a few professors walked into the Hall, the Deputy Headmistress leading the way to the staff table. She remained standing on the raised platform and the sounds died away, the students waiting expectantly for any news.

"A strict curfew has been placed and all students are now required to be inside the castle walls two hours before sunset. Anyone found in the grounds afterwards will be severely punished." her face was set in a tight frown and she sent angry glares when several voices of objections broke out from the house Quidditch teams, although none from the Gryffindors. "Quidditch practise will have to be supervised, so the Captains of each team please consult your head of house to organise it. Also, no student is permitted to approach the Forest at any time. There will be extra security around the edges of the Forest, set by the Headmaster himself, so do not test his patience. If you have Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures, please wait by the castle entrance, the professor will come and escort you to your lessons. Afternoon classes will go ahead as normal, so please inform anyone not present here, about the lessons as well as about the curfew. Thank you."

She sent a warning glare at the Gryffindor table, but her expression softened when she saw the Weasley twins, sitting with the rest of the Quidditch team, looking nothing like the carefree pranksters they usually were. They looked pale and, like Ron, had barely touched the food in front of them. When Professor McGonagall sat back down, the silence broke as every students gave their own theories about what was happening in the school.

"It sounds like they haven't been able to find what attacked Oliver..." Hermione whispered.

Ron stood up. "I'm going to go ahead to Herbology."

"We still have some time don't we?" Harry asked looking at the large clock set above the entrance. Lessons wouldn't start for almost another hour. "Oh, you're going to look for Fen?"

"Yeah… if she's not in the castle… she must be somewhere outside." with that Ron stood up and quickly left.

"Ron! Professor McGonagall-" Hermione hissed.

"It's the middle of the day, we'll be fine, and we won't go near the forest." Harry quietly reassured her. Then he stood up and followed his friend, Hermione let out a huff but joined them as well.

Harry let out a quiet breath of relief as they passed the entrance hall, noticing the splotch of blood had been cleared sometime during the night. They opened the doors to the grounds and barely took three steps outside, when they spotted her.

"FEN!" Ron rushed ahead and picked up the small creature that was casually strolling towards them. "Oh Merlin, she's hurt!"

Much like Oliver had been the night before, the mongoose was covered in red, although it had a brownish tinge to it, suggesting some time had passed since the blood was shed. Ron was carefully examining his pet, turning her all over to find the source of the wound, Harry and Hermione helping him by his side.

Hermione frowned. "I don't… I don't think she's hurt..."

It seemed Hermione was right, Fenlutus wasn't acting like an animal with a grievous wound, she was acting like she always does, purring in pleasure at Ron's touch and sniffing his hands for any food. Without a word Ron started walking and his friends followed him, until they reached the edge of the lake. He carefully dipped his hands in the water and poured it over the mongoose and gently massaged the fur to wash the blood off. Harry and Hermione watched in silence for a few minutes, until all the red was gone and Ron dried her with the sleeves of his robes.

"Oh, thank Merlin..." Ron said after he checked his pet again for any signs of injury. "She's alright..."

Harry cracked a smile and clapped Ron's shoulder, "I think she looks hungry, maybe we should go back inside and get her something to eat?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Ron smiled back. "I'm feeling a bit peckish myself..."

They turned around and started walking, but stopped when they realised Hermione wasn't following them. She hadn't moved from the side of the lake and was standing there, staring at Fenlutus, her expression a mixture of worry and fear. "Hermione are you coming?"

She bit her lips and raised her head to face Ron. "Ron… it… she… the blood, it wasn't her own."

"Yeah, so? That's a good thing, isn't it?" Ron frowned.

"What… what if..." Hermione hesitated before speaking again. "What if it was Oliver's blood…?"

"What?" Ron's mouth dropped open and Harry unconsciously took a step away from Ron and the animal he was holding.

"She was out all night… we don't know where she was when… when Oliver was attacked and the professors haven't been able to find anything. What if… what if… she's the thing that's been..." Hermione looked between Harry and Ron, wringing her hands together anxiously.

"No." Ron said, but his voice lacked conviction. "She… wouldn't… she's… not..."

"We need to take her to a professor." Hermione pleaded, looking at Harry for support.

Harry swallowed nervously. "Ron, I think she might be right. Let's go take her to Hagrid..."

"It wasn't her… I swear… she..." Ron held Fenlutus closer to his chest.

"You promised Ron! You promised to take her to Hagrid if anything happened!" Hermione's eyes were shining with tears. "If she's the one that's… we need to know!"

Ron looked down at Fenlutus, who looked back up at him with her usual soft expression. He let out a deep sigh, "It wasn't her… but… I'll take her to see Hagrid..."

Ron dragged his feet, perhaps hoping lessons would start and he could put off the inevitable, but Harry and Hermione both pushed him along, casting wary glances at the animal in question, who was now dozing peacefully in her owner's arms. When they reached the house, they heard an angry roar coming from inside. They looked at each other uncertainly, before making their way to the side of the house, just inside the paddock, where they stood underneath an open window and behind some crates, hidden from view from the front of the building.

"Professor Hagrid, I must insist you keep your temper in check!" an agitated voice came from the window.

"Rubeus, please." Professor Riddle said evenly, but Harry sensed a tightness in the Headmaster's voice. "Minister, I can personally vouch for Remus' whereabouts last night, he is not the attacker."

"Then do you have another werewolf you've been keeping in the school?" Fudge said with scorn. "There have been questions about your decision ever since you brought him to the school, questions about your judgement and motives, but you were allowed your little _pet_ _project_. Now a student has been attacked Riddle! Attacked and almost killed!"

"And Remus is not responsible!" Professor Riddle said sharply, raising his voice. "He was in this very building, having taken Wolfsbane Potion, as placid as a house-cat and _n_ _ot_ attacking a student."

"Well then, where is this mysterious attacker! That broke into Hogwarts, of all places, and-" Harry jumped when he heard a snort near his ears, they turned around to find Hippo had walked up to them, tail swaying and nuzzling their robes in hopes of a treat. "What was that?"

Hagrid grunted from inside, "It's just a winged horse Minister, nothing to worry about, but that doesn't matter does it? What vile crimes are you planning on accusin' her of?"

Fudge let out a noise of indignation but Professor Riddle quickly said, "Rubeus!"

"The Board of Governors have insisted, and I completely agree with their decision, that this… Mr. Lupin be immediately taken into custody." Fudge huffed.

There was a weak moan and Harry recognised Remus' voice. "In...into custody… do you… do you mean?"

"Azkaban." the Minister said simply.

Remus' groan of despair was drowned as Hagrid let out another roar and the Headmaster had to raise his voice almost to a shout. "Minister Fudge… let me contact the Governors, give me time to-"

"You may do what you wish Headmaster, but for now he will come with us." Fudge insisted. "Longbottom, Proudfoot, take him away."

There were more objections that Harry couldn't make out, as he was startled again when he heard rapid footsteps and flattened himself against the wall, Hermione and Ron doing the same. They heard the door slam open and someone said in surprise, "Black!"

"Longbottom." Sirius answered in a low growl.

"You shouldn't be here Black, Scrimgeour assigned-" said a female voice Harry didn't recognise.

"I don't give a damn what Scrimgeour said!" Sirius roared. "Remus is not-"

"Auror Black, stand down!" Fudge said, his voice shaking slightly. "If you and the Headmaster truly believe there is another werewolf inside the school boundaries, then by all means find him and bring him in. Until you do, Mr. Lupin will come with us. Longbottom, Proudfoot!"

"Let go of him!" Sirius shouted, then he let out an angry breath and said more calmly. "I'll take him. It's the least I can do..."

"Black you shouldn't-" Proudfoot started.

"I told you. I don't give a damn what Scrimgeour said. I will take Remus… to Azkaban." Harry could easily imagine the Auror's gritted teeth.

There was a moment of silence before the Minister opened his mouth. "…To Azkaban and nowhere else, Auror Black. I'm warning you, I will not hesitate to throw you in there alongside your friend."

Sirius only replied with a snort. There was the shuffling of feet and the door opened again. The three students hid again and they heard Remus' soft words, as the two friends left the cabin. "Thank you Sirius."

"Don't thank me yet, I have to get you out of the country, get you out of Europe if possible..." Sirius whispered back.

"No!" Remus almost shouted. "No. Just… I'll be fine… I'm sure the Headmaster will find the real culprit soon…"

"Remus, I don't care if I lose my job over this." Sirius said, his voice unwavering.

"But I do." Remus said quietly. "Please, just take me… to Azkaban."

"Remus… No… I've already failed James… I can't… Not you as well..." Harry felt his chest tighten at Sirius' words.

"I'm not dead yet Sirius..." Remus said with a forced laugh. "Just help the Headmaster find the werewolf, the other werewolf I mean."

Sirius was silent for a moment, then sighed in resignation. "Alright, I'll do it. I'll burn the whole bloody forest down if I need to..."

"No. The Headmaster already has the forest and the grounds covered. You need to use your Auror resources, see if you can find-" Remus' voice trailed off as they walked away from the hidden Gryffindors.

Harry peeked around the corner as their attention turned to the house again, the remaining occupants were leaving the building one by one. There was a barely hidden cold anger in Professor Riddle's voice, "Minister, I would like to speak with you in my office."

Harry saw Minister Fudge, looking extremely uneasy. "Erm… I'm quite busy, you know? Erm… if you insist, just for a few minutes… Longbottom, Proudfoot if you'll join-"

"Perhaps in private? I'm sure you understand? Frank? Priscilla?" Riddle said in a quiet voice, packed with authority.

"Yes Headmaster."

"Oh my. Of course, Headmaster."

The two replies came so quickly Harry almost thought that he had used magic to get them to answer. "Very good. Minister, if you please..."

Cornelius Fudge certainly didn't look pleased and he gave a stricken look to the two Aurors, who both looked embarrassed, before reluctantly following the Headmaster towards the castle. There was a grunt and the door slammed, the two Aurors jumped in surprise before hurrying down the path Sirius and Remus had taken.

"A werewolf? Oliver was attacked by a werewolf?" Ron voiced his horror.

They waited until they couldn't hear the footsteps of the retreating Aurors, then Harry moved away from the wall, giving Hippo a short pat on the head, and made his way to the door. He knocked once before opening it.

"What now! Have you come to arrest the bloody hor- Harry! What are you lot doing here?" Hagrid was sitting at the table, drinking something quite potent, if Harry's nose was any indication. "You shouldn't be here! You aren't allowed near the forest!"

But Harry ignored him, "Oliver was attacked by a werewolf? Is he okay?"

Hagrid's face crumpled, "How much have you heard?"

"We heard it all." Hermione said hesitantly. "Will Oliver turn into a..."

"No, no. Thankfully he was just scratched, not bitten." Hagrid shook his head taking a swig of his drink. "You found him just in time Harry, any later and he might..."

Harry paled at Hagrid's unsaid words. "But he's fine now, right? He won't…?"

"He'll have a nasty scar and it'll be a while until he's back on his feet, but they know how to do their jobs at St. Mungo's. Don't worry." Hagrid tried to give them a reassuring smile.

Harry let out a sigh of relief, but Hermione still looked worried. "It sounds as if they haven't been able to find this werewolf..."

Hagrid grunted in annoyance. "We've been searching the grounds and the castle all night and we started on the forest this morning, but nothing. It's as if he's sneaking into the castle to attack, just to leave straight afterwards."

"That doesn't really sound like a werewolf." Hermione said uncertainly.

"Yer right, and that's what's worrying the Headmaster." Hagrid scratched his beard. "If it was just a werewolf, we would have found him easily. But it's someone with a plan, someone who knows how to get in and out."

"So you think he's already escaped Hogwarts?" Ron asked.

Hagrid let out a deep sigh. "Yes and honestly, I'm not sure how we'll be able to find him. The school grounds we can search easily enough, but out there? And you heard the Minister, he's not going to help."

"Then… what will happen to Remus?" Harry asked quietly.

Hagrid shook his head sadly before grunting angrily, "Idiots! The lot of them! They haven't changed in fifty years! They don't bother to investigate and they throw the blame onto a scapegoat they don't mind chucking into prison! Into Azkaban!"

"How bad is Azkaban?" Harry asked tentatively. "Remus and Sirius told me a bit about the place during the summer, but..."

"It's bad Harry..." Hagrid said with a sigh.

"My dad had to go out to Azkaban once..." Ron whispered quietly. "He came back all weak and shaking… he said it was the worst place he'd ever been..."

Silence settled over the four and Harry shivered at Ron's words, imagining what kind of horrors Remus would have to endure in the wizarding prison. After a minute Hagrid cleared his throat. "Right, you lot, I've told you a lot more than I should've. You need to get back to the castle and I shouldn't be drinking this..."

"Er… Hagrid… We had something we wanted to ask you about." Hermione nudged Ron.

"Oh right." Ron stepped forward reluctantly, holding Fenlutus out towards the Care of Magical Creatures Professor. "Erm… could you… have a look at her please?"

"Ah, this is the new pet I've been hearing so much about? I've been wondering if you'd ever come by and show me." Hagrid leaned closer while Fen blinked back. He put his hand out, palm upwards. "May I?"

"...Sure." Ron hesitated before gently dropping his pet onto the Professor's large hand. "She… I… just wanted to make sure she's okay…"

Hermione glared at him, but kept her mouth shut. Fenlutus seemed at ease with the giant professor and gave the sleeves of his coat a little sniff. Hagrid chuckled. "I've heard there was a 'cute' animal in Gryffindor Tower, she's easy on the eyes I guess. Mongoose eh? Got her from Egypt? Non-magic? What's she called?"

"Erm… Fenlutus, Fen for short." Ron avoided Hermione's glare. "And erm… that's what I was told when I bought her, but maybe you could check? If she's magical, I mean?"

Hagrid scratched his head. "Not sure what you mean Ron. Has she shown any signs of magical activity?"

Ron jerked his head in a way that could be interpreted as either a 'yes' or a 'no'. Hagrid looked confused for a moment then he peered closely at the animal in his hand. He mumbled to himself while he checked every part of the small animal with surprising delicacy, considering the size of his hands. He gently prised her mouth open to check her teeth, lifted each paw to stare at her claws and even raised her bushy tail to have a look at her unmentionables. He finally ran a single finger down her back, which made Harry, Ron and Hermione suck in a deep breath of anticipation, but Hagrid nor Fenlutus showed no signs of surprise and Harry barely heard him mutter, "No. Much to small for that… much to small..."

He then took out a dead mouse from his pocket and dangled it in front of the mongoose, who quickly nabbed it with her jaw and started tearing into the flesh. Harry felt slightly queasy wondering exactly how many dead rodents the Professor kept in his large coat. Ron cleared his throat and asked hesitantly, "So… is she…?"

"She seems perfectly healthy to me. Although I don't think she's magical, sorry Ron." he placed Fenlutus and the dead mouse onto the table and watched her with a satisfied smile. "There are only two species of magical beast that could possibly fit a creature this size and shape, but I'm pretty sure it's neither."

They watched as Fenlutus neatly finished off the mouse, apart from Hermione who was looking at Ron with a determined look on her face. She turned to the Professor and said stiffly, "She was covered in blood this morning, in someone else's blood."

Ron let out a weak moan and paled, silently pleading at Hermione with his eyes. Harry's eyes widened at a realisation, "But it can't be her, Oliver was attacked by a werewolf, remember?"

Hagrid suddenly tensed and slowly reached for the wand inside his coat, and pointed it at the mongoose, which was now licking her paws. The Professor looked like he was moments away from flattening the creature to a pulp and Ron whimpered silently, "Please… don't..."

But Hagrid didn't crush it, instead he said firmly. " _Homorphus Revelio_."

A flash of light erupted from his wand and for a moment Fenlutus was enveloped in a blue hue, before it dissipated. Fen looked up and cocked her head at the wand pointed at her, looking mildly interested. Hagrid sighed in relief, "Not an Animagus then."

As soon as Hagrid lowered his wand Ron shot forwards and lifted his pet into his arms, giving both Hagrid and Hermione an accusatory glare. Hermione had the decency to look slightly apologetic. Harry turned to Hagrid, "You thought she might be the werewolf, disguised as a mongoose? Like Professor McGonagall?"

"It didn't hurt to check." Hagrid shrugged. "As for the blood… We might have to go to the Headmaster about this..."

"What? Why?" Ron clutched Fen tightly in his arms.

"You know what they use mongooses for, don't use? Both Muggles and wizards use them to cull snakes and if she's been trained for that..." Hagrid looked at Ron with a hint of pity. "With Tom being what he is, there's quite a few snakes around the castle and the grounds, he really won't appreciate it if Fen goes about killing them."

Ron looked crestfallen, as if he'd already been told he had to send his pet away. His voice was weak and trembling. "She's... not violent… she's never gotten into any fights with the other pets in Gryffindor Tower."

"If you're right, you have nothing to worry about." Hagrid said kindly. He took out a pocket watch from another one of his pockets and glanced at it. "There's still time before your next class and he'll probably be finished with Fudge. We'll go see him now."

They walked in silence, Ron worrying over his pet, Harry over Remus and Hermione mulling over everything Hagrid had told them. When they reached the Gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office Hagrid gave the password. "Crisp- I mean, Chryo- bugger Tom and his bleedin' passwords… Chry-so-pel-ea pel-i-as"

The Gargoyle almost seemed to give him a smirk before moving aside and they climbed the stairs. Hagrid gave the door three booming knocks before announcing himself and entering, with the students following behind. They found the Headmaster, sitting in a most undignified manner, with his legs crossed on his desk and leaning back staring at the ceiling. He sounded very tired when he said, "Rubeus?"

There were several sharp coughs and hisses from the portraits and Professor Riddle finally looked up, startling when he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione, instantly getting his feet off the desk and looking embarrassed. The three young Gryffindors fought hard to stop a burst of giggles and tried to look impassive. Hagrid wasn't as indiscreet and gave a snort of laughter, "Tom. Sorry to bother you, I'm sure you're busy, but I needed to talk to you about here Ron Weasley's Pet."

Professor Riddle blinked as if he wasn't sure if he'd heard correctly. "Sorry? About a pet?"

"Yeah, it won't take long, but I thought it would be better to sort out quickly." Hagrid gently pushed Ron forwards. "Go on, show the Headmaster."

Professor Riddle moved a few sheets of parchment and gestured at his desk, where Ron hesitantly placed Fenlutus. The Headmaster stared intently at the animal on his desk, who curiously stared back. "A mongoose? I did hear it was a rodent of some sort."

"Actually the mongoose is related to cats…" Hagrid cleared his throat, while Hermione nodded by his side, obviously agreeing with this little bit of trivia. "...anyway, she appears pretty tame, with no magical qualities I can detect. I don't see any reason he shouldn't keep her but, with your snakes and all..."

Riddle nodded in understanding, "We'll see then… _Nagini._ "

Ron and Hermione gasped while Harry recognised the hiss as he called for his familiar, Parseltongue. So he wasn't at all surprised when the python appeared from the back of the office, slithering towards them in a way that made his non-Parselmouth friends very nervous.

" _Y_ _ou called?_ " the snake's tongue flickered in and out while gazing at the three students.

" _I need you to check something. The creature on my desk, what do you make of it?_ " the Headmaster pointed at Fenlutus, with his wand in his other hand, prepared to separate the two animals if needed.

" _Nakula..._ " the snake hissed, then suddenly shot forwards, stopping a few inches away from the creature, snapping it's jaws. Fen looked slightly uneasy, her posture indicating she was ready to fight if necessary and gave a quick look to Ron, who was quietly begging her to keep calm. The two animals stared at each other for a minute before Nagini broke eye contact and looked at Riddle, _"It appears tame,_ _what would you like me to do with it?_ "

" _No_ _thing._ "The Headmaster hissed at his familiar then smiled at Ron. "Nagini seems to approve, I see no reason you shouldn't keep her."

"See! I told you, there was nothing to worry about Ron." Hagrid clapped Ron in the back, sending him forwards a few steps. Hermione frowned slightly, as Ron didn't mention the spines they had seen on the train, but seemed satisfied that they had finally taken the pet to a professor. "Now that's sorted. Tom, what happened with Fudge? Has he seen some sense about Remus?"

"Rubeus!" Riddle frowned while he jerked his head towards the three students, who all turned away looking embarrassed.

"Erm… Headmaster… we were there… just outside the window… we heard everything." Harry admitted, not looking the Professor in his eyes.

Riddle sighed in exasperation. "I had hoped to address the students personally before news got out."

"We won't say anything." Hermione promised, Harry and Ron nodding alongside her.

"Well, if you already heard everything, you can probably guess that the meeting with Minister Fudge wasn't very productive, neither were the calls I made to the few Governors I managed to get hold of." Riddle sat down, looking tired.

"Hmph, that great bloody idiot." Hagrid growled again at the mention of the Minister.

Riddle chuckled softly at his friend, "We'll get Remus back before long. I've contacted a few people to see if they can track down any werewolves known to have a violent past. As for inside the school grounds… Let's just say I have a _Legion_ working on it..."

* * *

 **A/N**

I'm working on the final chapter for this year and I started another chapter for the PC Extras concerning how Tom Riddle came to become a Professor at Hogwarts. I've also been re-reading some of my earlier chapters from Y1 and Y2, which I've said I would go back and edit, and it really makes me want to climb into bed with a bottle of whatever Hagrid was drinking... Ugh...

Anyway, thanks to everyone leaving a review, as well as everyone following and favouriting!


	21. Year 3 - Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Missing Friends**

Although the Headmaster seemed cautiously optimistic that they would find this rogue werewolf soon, the days soon turned into weeks without any results. By this time, Harry was contacting Sirius every day, asking if he found anything or, if he'd gone to see Remus, how the falsely imprisoned werewolf was doing. To Harry's first question, Sirius would answer with an irritated grunt and as for Remus' well-being, he would only say, "He's staying strong."

Although Harry and his friends, who all visited Remus often, worried about the werewolf, the rest of the house was more anxious about Oliver Wood, who still hadn't returned from St. Mungo's. Professor McGonagall's reassurances that the seventh year student was recovering well and would return to school soon did little to help the mood, especially with the other members of the Quidditch team.

Harry realised during their first practice without the Gryffindor Captain, how much of a positive presence Oliver Wood had been for the team and his sudden and violent departure had shaken everyone pretty hard. Fred and George were the worst effected, as they firmly blamed themselves for Oliver's attack, saying it was their fault he had been out so late that night and that they shouldn't have left him behind to clear the equipment by himself. Angelina Johnson, who had been made Captain ("Temporary Captain until Wood returns." she insisted), stopped trying to console them after a while as nothing she said seemed to get through to them.

It was almost like nobody wanted to play Quidditch anymore, a victory without Oliver shouting at them wouldn't feel like a victory at all. The temporary Keeper was a sixth year student who, in Harry's opinion, wasn't a very good player at all, but he had been the only one they had been able to convince to take the position. The few students Angelina approached were scared of being attacked like Oliver was, especially after the Headmaster announced during breakfast that it had been a werewolf and that it was his belief that the true culprit behind the attack was still at large.

With Angelina uncomfortable with being the Captain, Professor McGonagall, who was now overseeing their practice sessions, stepped up as a sort of replacement Wood. She barked orders and put them through drills while she perched on top of a school broom. Harry had been surprised to find that his Transfiguration Professor had played for the house team during her Hogwarts years and knew more about Quidditch than just as a passing interest.

"Johnson! Spinnet! Bell! Get back in formation and do that again, and will-" McGonagall's frustrated shout echoed the Quidditch pitch, "-the Gryffindor Keeper at least _try_ to block the Quaffle this time?"

"Yes Professor." came the spiritless response from the Chasers and an incomprehensible shout from the Keeper.

"Weasley! Both of you! Get your heads in the game! I will not have you playing like this during the Slytherin match next week!" McGonagall flew around, urging them on. "Potter, you're meant to be trying to disrupt the Chasers' formation! Now get in there!"

Harry leaned against his broom and shot towards Katie Bell, who had just been handed the Quaffle. When she saw Harry flying towards her, she tried to pass the ball along to Angelina but ended up fumbling and dropping the Quaffle onto the ground. Professor McGonagall blew a whistle and motioned them to the grass.

"There's no point." Fred scowled. "We can't do this without Oliver..."

"Hush! I know it has been a trying month for you, it's been difficult for us all, but there is no reason we cannot win." McGonagall looked at each of them in turn with a stern expression.

"But Professor-" Alicia sighed.

McGonagall cut her off with a glare. "Now, without Wood our defences are much weaker, if you'll forgive me for saying Mr. Carew, so we'll have to make up the points by scoring more goals. A quick end to the game wouldn't hurt either, Mr. Potter."

For ten minutes she talked tactics for the upcoming game, trying to rile them up and encourage them, saying they could do much better. It was very similar to what Oliver would have done after practice. The whole team was thinking this and they were all sullenly staring at the grass, while only half listening to the strict professor.

When she realised they weren't fully paying attention she gave a heavy sigh, "This has gone on for long enough. You have a Hogsmeade visit on Saturday, I want you all to go down to the Three Broomsticks, as a team and clear your heads. Yes, Mr. Potter, all of you."

Harry nodded, she wasn't even giving a flimsy excuse like she had done the last time. It was Carew, the Keeper, that hesitantly spoke up, "Er… Professor? I have a detention that day…"

He stared at the Professor hopefully, but after a moment's consideration McGonagall said, "Very well then, the _rest_ of you will go to Hogsmeade. Talk, cry, laugh, do whatever you have to do. Oliver is not dead, and I suspect he will be very cross with all of you when he comes back to find Gryffindor in last place."

Harry met up with Hermione and Ron in the library afterwards, where they had been spending much of their free time for the past month. Hermione was scouring through the books, trying to find a way to track down a werewolf or how someone could sneak into a place so tightly guarded. They told Hagrid of the few secret passageways in the castle they had discovered last year and although they were being guarded now, it seemed very unlikely that someone could be using them. Skulking in the grounds and the Forest was one thing, but to get into the castle itself and not be discovered, especially under Professor Riddle's watch, seemed impossible.

"How was practise?" Ron whispered as he looked up from his book.

Harry shrugged. "Same as always. Did you find anything?"

Ron shook his head and Hermione muttered in frustration, "No, there's nothing useful in these books."

Harry had to laugh at that and Hermione's scowl eventually turned into a sheepish grin. Ron smiled as well as he closed the book he was reading, "Let's get out of here, I'm starving."

With Hermione lost in thought, Ron and Harry discussed Quidditch and Gryffindor's chances of winning the upcoming match. Professor McGonagall was right, even without Wood, they were a formidable team and they could win the match if they could somehow overcome the miserable mood hanging over them. Perhaps worse than Oliver's absence as Keeper was the Weasley twins' depression. Even on the days when Oliver would push them to their limits, Fred and George, with their jovial attitudes, could always lighten the mood and without it, Quidditch almost seemed like a chore.

"Ugh, I've tried talking to them, but they won't listen to anything I say. I've even heard they got into a fight with Lee a few days ago." Ron said sadly. If that was true, it certainly wouldn't help.

"Hopefully Saturday will make things better." Ron asked Harry what was happening that day. "Oh, McGonagall ordered us to go to the Three Broomsticks and… clear our heads? I think that's what she said."

"It'll be good to get your mind off school and Quidditch for a day." Hermione told Harry, stifling a yawn. "Have a good time."

"You're not coming?" Harry asked.

"Hermione convinced me to stay and look through more books..." Ron groaned. "I agreed because I thought you wouldn't be going again."

"Come on, you need a break as well Hermione. All you've been doing is going to classes or reading in the library, you'll wear yourself out at this rate." Harry said as he looked at Hermione's tired face.

Hermione pursed her lips, "I'll think about it."

* * *

"EEEEEK!" Katie shrieked causing the others around her to jump.

"What? What is it?" Fred asked, his wand out and looking for an attacker.

Katie shuddered as she pointed at the ground. "Snake..."

The serpent looked at the students, giving Harry the slightest hint of a nod, before slithering away.

"It's just one of Riddle's." Angelina said reassuringly.

"I know… they still give me the creeps." Katie shook her head.

It wasn't uncommon to hear such shrieks, gasps or moans of fright from students who suddenly found themselves inches away from a snake. Riddle had been taking security of Hogwarts quite seriously now and had unleashed his legion of snakes around the school and grounds. The greatest concentration of them seemed to be in the forest and whenever Harry passed the edges while going to his Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures class, he could hear them hissing constantly, ever vigilant.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team, minus the temporary Keeper, was making their way out of the castle. They had all agreed to go early, wanting to avoid the crowds. Hermione and Ron, having stayed up late into the night in the common room reading, promised to meet Harry later.

Angelina walked with Fred, somehow managing to get him to laugh quietly when she whispered a joke into his ear. Katie and Alicia walked with George between them and although they couldn't get George to smile, they got him talking about something other than Quidditch and Oliver. Harry walked just behind them, unsure of what to say, after all the rest of them were close friends in the same year, making Harry feel like a third, or rather in this case, a sixth rather ungainly wheel. Still, it was nice to see that twins were doing slightly better.

"What are you doing back there, Harry? Come on." George waved him over and the three waited until he caught up with them.

Alicia looked at Harry expectantly and he grasped for a topic of conversation that wouldn't be too heavy. He ended up blurting out, "Are they… together?"

"What? Oh, Fred and Angelina?" George grinned at Harry's obvious discomfort. "They flirt with each other quite a lot but they don't have anything serious going on. I don't think so anyway."

"They'd make a nice couple." Katie said, Alicia agreeing with her.

"They're good for each other." George nodded. "It's been a while since I've heard Fred laugh. I might even try and get him to apologise to Lee afterwards..."

Alicia, seeing George's slight frown, quickly turned their attention to Harry again. "So Harry, any girls you have your eyes on? Anything going on with the Ravenclaw Seeker?"

Harry went bright red and mumbled under his breath, causing the three around him to burst out laughing. The not-yet-a-couple in front of them turned back and Angelina shouted, "Hey! What are you doing to our star Seeker!"

They were in a pretty good mood as they left the gates and walked down the path to Hogsmeade, until that is, they walked past a familiar flashy tent. Harry immediately tensed and lowered his head, trying to match his pace with George's next to him, but unfortunately the owner of the tent had caught sight of him and was striding towards them with barely hidden glee.

"You there! Young man! I foresee great danger in your immediate future!" Trelawney uttered with one hand resting on her forehead and the other pointing straight at Harry. "Allow me to be of service, so that you may avoid your grisly and bloody fate!"

The others had been just frowning and shielding Harry from the witch until she had said the word 'bloody'. Their minds immediately went to the night when Oliver was attacked, when Harry had appeared in the common room covered in his blood. They all stopped and turned to face her, Fred already had his wand in his hand and snarled viciously, "He. Is. Not. Interested."

The witch flinched back, looking quite terrified at the six students glaring daggers at her. "N..now s..seers are often… misunderstood… and you sh..shouldn't threaten… I s..shall be in my tent if you require my services..."

With that she ran, robes fluttering, and shot through the flaps of her tent. Fred made of noise of disdain and walked away, with the others following him. Harry didn't look back until they reached the Three Broomsticks.

They were quiet again as they walked into the empty pub, which was usually the last destination for students visiting Hogsmeade, a place to put their feet up after wandering the village for the day. Madam Rosmerta, the landlady gave them a wide smile as they sat down and quickly brought them six bottles of Butterbeer.

"Here you go, this one's on the house, or rather your head of house. Let me know if you need anything else." she gave them a brief look of sympathy, before smiling again.

"You couldn't set us up with a bottle of Firewhisky?" Fred said half-jokingly.

"I'm afraid we're all out, we're getting some in stock in… hmm… three years' time?" Rosmerta said, obviously used to dealing with students asking for things they shouldn't be having. She flashed them a grin before returning behind the bar.

"Here's to McGonagall then." Angelina smiled as she raised her bottle.

"And to Oliver." George said solemnly.

"To Oliver." they echoed. Katie added, "And to the Healers that have to watch him night and day in case he tries to sneak off and fly back to Hogwarts."

There was a momentary pause before they all burst out laughing. Fred chuckled, "I wouldn't bet against it, he's probably screaming at them, telling them he needs to be there when we crush Slytherin to the ground."

"He was already acting as though he was Captain, even when Charlie was there." George said. "Remember the speech he gave that year?"

They all laughed again, apart from Harry who was grinning with curiosity. "What happened?"

"Well Charlie, even though he was the Captain-" Angelina started.

"And a fantastic Seeker." Fred added.

"He was," Angelina agreed. "but he never really was a people person. He always preferred his magical beasts."

"Before each match," George continued. "he would just say 'alright team, let's do our best' and everyone would just nod and follow him out."

"But the year before you joined Harry, before our final match he walked up to Charlie and whispered something in his ear." Katie laughed. "Charlie just stared at him and said, 'you do it then'."

"And Oliver did." Fred cleared his throat. "Okay, men."

"And women." Angelina chortled.

"And women." Fred bit his lips trying not to laugh. "This is it."

"The big one." Alicia and Katie said together, then the rest joined in. "The one we've all been waiting for."

They were all crying with laughter now, Fred gasped for breath. "Even Charlie admitted later, he was desperately trying not to laugh when Oliver was making that little speech."

The tension of the past month seemed to melt away and they spent an hour telling Harry stories about Oliver and the Gryffindor team before Harry came to Hogwarts. They were still chatting and laughing, after several more bottles of Butterbeer, when Ron and Hermione joined them.

"Well you seem to be in a better mood." Ron said, looking amazed, and Hermione elbowed him. "Ow! What was that for?"

Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Nothing Ron."

"Alright then, boys and girls," Fred said as he stood up. "I think I owe someone an apology… I'll see you later, come on George."

George looked surprised, but pleased and followed his twin out of the pub, which was starting to fill with students. The three Chasers got up as well, saying they needed to stretch their legs. Harry turned to his friends, "Do you want a Butterbeer?"

"Maybe later. Hermione wants to check Dervish and Banges and I need to get some chocolate..." Ron said.

So they left the pub, Harry not forgetting to thank Madam Rosmerta on his way out. During their hour in the pub she seemed to appear just at the right moment with another round of drinks, so that the flow of conversation never broke. She even refused Harry's offer to pay for the drinks, saying she would collect from Professor McGonagall later and sent him away with a cheerful wave.

Ernie and Sue were waiting outside, not wanting the disturb the Gryffindor team and smiled at Harry when they saw him. At Dervish and Banges Hermione and Sue spent an extremely long time questioning the owner about magical objects that could help Remus in some way. Unfortunately Mr. Dervish didn't have anything in stock that could specificity track a werewolf or detect secret passageways in a castle full of magic. He did have a strange artefact, a monocle with a pale blue lens, that could apparently reveal the true nature of a person and could potentially tell if someone was a werewolf while even in human form. However, it seemed unlikely that a student or a professor in plain sight could be behind the attacks and more than that, the price Mr. Dervish quoted them not only made Ron extremely pale, but Sue and Ernie as well. Harry having no idea if that was a lot just frowned in confusion and Hermione just nodded as if she had expected as much.

Harry tried to get his friends to forget Remus' troubles just for a few hours. Although Harry was desperate to help his werewolf friend, all their research hadn't done anything but wear them out. He hoped that if they could just relax and enjoy themselves for the day, they could approach the problem again with a fresh mind, like the Gryffindor team had done. He dragged them all into Honeydukes and Zonko's trying out the latest flavours and seeing some of the newest joke products in action.

They were tired out by the end of the trip, but were in a better mood as they walked back. Harry pushed down the guilt he was feeling for enjoying himself so much, given where Remus was right now, promising himself to go through more books the moment they were back at the castle.

But as they were passing through the village, a thought occurred to Harry. "I think there's one more place I want to go..."

"Where?" Ron asked.

Harry pointed and Ron gaped at him. Hermione looked sceptical. "I don't think she'll be much help Harry."

"Hermione's right, I heard Professor Flitwick talking about her," Sue agreed with her friend. "he said even Professor Parnassos doesn't take her seriously."

"If Divination could really help, I'm sure Parnassos would've done something by now." Ernie added.

Harry shrugged. "It won't hurt to try though, will it?"

They approached the tiny tent and the milky eye followed their progress as they gently pushed aside the colourful fabric and entered. They were instantly hit with the smell of incense, burning herbs and a very strong flowery perfume that made them gag slightly. As soon as the tent closed they were momentarily enclosed in darkness, before several candles suddenly came to light, and the music from some kind of stringed instrument came from somewhere above them.

The inside was indeed larger than the outside, but Harry was still mildly disappointed. He wasn't sure what he expected, but it was slightly smaller than his own bedroom at the Dursleys, looking even more crowded with the furniture cluttering the whole room. There were various objects on the shelves, charms and trinkets that were sold to Hogwarts students, a little kitchen unit to the side where a kettle was currently boiling but most of the room was taken by a low table on a frayed carpet in the centre of the room, where a single crystal ball lay on top.

Sybill Trelawney was sitting crossed legged on the floor behind this table with her eyes closed. "Welcome… How may my Inner Eye ser-"

She lazily opened her eyes and they instantly met Harry's. She jumped up and yelped. Harry suppressed a snigger and said, "Hello."

"Ah? You have finally decided to listen to my warnings? Come. Come, sit down and I shall endeavour to help." she motioned them onto several puffy cushions on the floor.

Hermione did so with great reluctance, while muttering softly, "This is a complete waste of time..."

But Trelawney seemed to have heard her and scowled, "I'm afraid negative energy coming from your unwillingness to allow the Inner Eye to gaze upon you will disturb my readings. I will have to ask anyone who… mistrusts my gifts, to remain outside while I attempt to aid your friend."

Ron sniggered into Harry's ear, "We'll all have to leave then."

Harry bit his lips, trying not to laugh and suggested to his friends, "Why don't you go on ahead. I'm sure this won't take too long."

Hermione snorted and left, with Sue, Ernie and Ron following. Trelawney gave a satisfied nod in their direction before sitting across from Harry. "Now, as I have already warned you, there is much dang-"

"I'm sorry." Harry quickly interrupted her and laid a handful of Sickles on the table. "I don't want you to do a reading about me, I was wondering if you could find someone?"

The seer looked peeved at the interruption and said haughtily, "The Inner Eye does not see on command. Now as I was-"

"Look." Harry was getting impatient. "I don't care about me right now, I want to help a friend and I need you to find someone for me to do that. If you can't do that then..."

Harry made a move to take back the coins. Trelawney's eyes flashed. Her hand shot out and the Sickles were gone in an instant. "Very well then, tell me what you seek..."

"You've heard about the attack in Hogwarts last month?" Harry waited for Trelawney to nod. "I need you to find the attacker."

"I thought they arrested him? The gamekeeper, wasn't it?" Trelawney frowned.

Harry shot her an annoyed glare, wondering if Hermione was right, "No, it wasn't. The Headmaster doesn't think it was him either."

"Hmph… well if the _Headmaster_ doesn't thinks so..." she muttered with thinly veiled contempt. "Very well… please lay your hands, palms up, onto the table… Let us see what the crystal ball reveals..."

She waved her hands theatrically over the ball while peering deeply into the milky smoke within. She started humming tunelessly and didn't stop for several minutes, Harry eventually cleared his throat, "Erm… so can you see anything?"

"Yes." she said breathlessly. "You will find the one responsible for the vile attack… to the south."

"...to the south?" Harry repeated, "To the south of what?"

"...South of Hogwarts." Trelawney vaguely waved her hand in the air.

Harry resisted the urge to snap at her and ask for his money back as he stood up to leave. "Right. Thank you for that. I'll just be going now."

"Wait! Now we can discuss more important matters now!" she called him back but he didn't stop.

"I'm sorry, but I need to get back to the castle." Harry said without turning back.

"Wait- HURK" she made a choking noise and Harry looked over his shoulders. Sybill Trelawney's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she stood rigid, slight tremors vibrating her body. "THE SERPENT ROOSTS IN THE CROW'S NEST, READY TO SHED BLOOD AND SKIN FOR THE DARK LORD'S REBIRTH. A CENTURY HE HAS WAITED, A CENTURY HE HAS PLANNED, NOW THE EM-"

When the tent flap was back in place, any noise from inside the tent was instantly cut off. Harry had heard enough. Telling him he would be in terrible danger was one thing, but using his past with Grindelwald for the sake of a few Sickles was a step too far. He would have been willing to endure it if she was actually able to help Remus, but his friends had been right, she was a useless old fraud.

They were waiting on the other side of the road and Hermione smirked at him when she saw his irritated expression. Harry sighed and shook his head, "Don't Hermione… just don't."

* * *

"Alright..." Angelina forced a smile onto her face, "We can do this."

There was a half-hearted murmur of agreement from the rest of her teammates, as they prepared for their match against Slytherin. After returning from the Hogsmeade trip, she had taken over the reigns from McGonagall and channelled her inner Wood and practice sessions became somewhat more animated. Unfortunately it didn't stop Carew from being a terrible Keeper and more training seemed to only highlight the fact. During the last Quidditch practice before the match, the three Chasers had done very well, so well in fact that the Keeper failed to save a single goal.

"Harry." she gripped his shoulders tightly with her hands, "We need an early catch."

"I'll… I'll try my best." Harry said nervously.

She nodded and went back to checking her equipment for the fourth time, when Professor McGonagall came into the changing rooms.

"Miss Johnson, how is the team doing?" she asked, looking at the anxious students sitting around the room.

"We're… we'll try our best." Angelina replied, sounding unsure of herself.

"I think..." McGonagall said slowly, "what you need, is a good pep talk."

They looked up expectantly but she just motioned towards the door, where a familiar face was standing, looking pale, but grinning. The Weasley twins were the first to leap up, "Oliver!"

They gave him a tight hug causing him to grunt in discomfort, while spewing out a month's worth of apologies. They stopped when Oliver smacked them lightly on their heads, "Enough of that."

They all surrounded him, asking how he was, telling him the Quidditch team was not the same without him. Angelina gave a quick glance at Oliver's replacement and said, "Will… you be able to play today?"

Oliver turned to Professor McGonagall with a hopeful look in his eyes, but she gave him a sharp shake of her head. "I've had to beg just to come and watch the game today. I'll be playing the next match though, don't worry."

He didn't sound entirely convinced with his own words, but the others believed him readily, they were too happy to see him right now. Eventually McGonagall told them that the match would be starting soon and they should get onto the pitch. Just before leaving, Angelina removed the badge that was on her robes and carefully pinned it onto Oliver's, "I think we'd all play a lot better, knowing our Captain was watching."

For a moment Oliver looked as if he was going to object, but then he stared down at the Gryffindor Captain's badge with a pleased grin. "Thanks, Angelina."

The stands were packed with reds and greens strewn amongst the black school robes, all cheering support for their houses. Madam Hooch kicked the box open and the Bludgers shot out and the Snitch vanished before Harry could even look at it. She picked up the Quaffle and threw it into the air, signalling the start of the match.

Slytherin immediately gained possession of the ball and ploughed through the Gryffindor players, scoring a point within ten seconds of the start of the match. Harry grimaced but turned away from the Chasers, he had to find the Golden Snitch. His efforts were somewhat hampered since Malfoy decided to mirror Harry's every movement, barely leaving enough space between them, risking a foul more than once. It was something that Angelina had warned him might happen, that Syltherin might give up trying for the Snitch and try to score more than 150 points with just the Quaffle, in which case Malfoy would try and distract Harry more than anything.

"Potter, how's your Captain? Has he shed his fur yet?" Malfoy sneered behind him, but Harry gritted his teeth but ignored it. This was also something Angelina and even Professor McGonagall has prepared them for, the taunts. McGonagall had gone as far as threatening the Weasley twins with a detention if they attacked their opponents in an unsportsmanlike manner, whatever the Slytherins said.

Harry then started to fly erratically, making sharp turns and hurtling towards green robed players, but veering away before Madam Hooch could blow the whistle and award a penalty against him for Blatching. He kept this up for several minutes, stopping a few times a minute for a quick look around for the Snitch and a glance at Malfoy, who was now struggling to keep up. He heard Lee shout out the scores, Gryffindor was losing, but Slytherin weren't scoring as quickly as before. It seemed Harry's aggressive flying was paying off.

With a look of determination, Harry shot towards Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Chaser and Captain, who was currently holding the Quaffle. Flint caught sight of Harry and instead of passing the ball along, as Harry thought he would, he gripped the Quaffle tightly under his arm and flew out to meet the Gryffindor Seeker. The Slytherin snarled and gave a sadistic grin, imagining the much smaller player being thrown off his broom, but at just that moment Harry pulled up while he swung upside down, narrowly avoiding a collision. Flint turned his head as Harry passed him, almost cheek to cheek, and then let out a cry of shock when he crashed into Malfoy. Just as Katie caught hold of the dropped Quaffle and scored, Madam Hooch called a time out.

"Harry! You're doing brilliantly!" Angelina gave him a one armed hug mid-air. "We can still win if you catch the Snitch."

"How far behind are we?" Harry asked, still breathless from the flying.

"We're 100 points down." Fred grimaced. "You'll need to catch it soon, Carew's absolutely useless..."

"He's not useless, he's saved a few goals. Besides, he's playing Keeper when no one else wants to." Angelina said sharply and Harry looked at the Keeper, who was bobbing in front of the goalposts. Fred just let out a snort. "Harry, I think Flint's going to tell Malfoy to forget about you and find the Snitch. When the game starts again, you do the same. Try to ignore all the other players and just get the Snitch."

The game started again and Angelina was right, Malfoy was no longer tailing him, instead he had a Beater, and the Bludger he was sending, on his heels. He dodged left and right, while he tried to survey the field, looking for the tell tale glimmer of the Golden Snitch. Then he saw it, but before he could make a move, there was a loud groan from the Gryffindor crowd.

"Slytherin scores." Lee's distaste at having to announce it was evident in his voice. "Slytherin leads 200 to 40."

Harry swore softly and jerked on the spot. If he caught it now, Gryffindor would still lose by ten points. He swiftly dodged an incoming Bludger and looked at Malfoy, he hadn't spotted it yet but he was much closer to it than Harry was.

"Potter making his way towards the Slytherin posts, has he seen the Snitch?" Lee shouted excitedly. There was a murmur from the crowd and Harry chanced a glance back, Malfoy was flying towards him. He changed his course slightly so he was flying very close to the Slytherin Chaser holding the Quaffle and just as he hoped, the player shot out towards him. Just in front of the Chaser, he swerved on his broomstick, the end narrowly missing the other player, but it caused him to flinch and drop the Quaffle.

"Gryffindor in possession! Spinnet has-" Harry pushed his broom down, sharply heading for the ground near the Slytherin goalposts, Malfoy right behind him.

"SPINNET SCORES!" just as the scores were announced Harry sharply pulled back and flew back towards the other side of the field. He passed Malfoy, who looked around in confusion, before snarling and chasing after Harry.

He dodged Bludgers and was flying side by side Flint, who was holding the Quaffle and flying towards the goalposts. They broke away, Flint heading towards a terrified looking Carew and Harry towards the bottom where, thankfully, the Golden Snitch was still fluttering. The crowds were in a frenzy but Harry ignored the screams and leaned forwards, he was flying slightly too fast considering how close to the ground the Snitch was, but if he could just catch it before Slytherin scored again…

Ten feet. The ground rushed towards him but he leaned forwards for more speed. Five feet. He raised his hand and gritted his teeth in anticipation. Then he was twelve short inches away from the Snitch. His fingers curled around the feathered gold orb and twisted around with a grunt, his arm raised to show the referee. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, just as Harry connected with the ground, shooting off his broom and rolling on the grass.

Madam Hooch said something he couldn't quite hear over the roar of the crowds, then Lee shouted over them, "POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH BEFORE FLINT SCORES! IT'S A TIE, 200 TO GRYFFINDOR, 200 TO SLYTHERIN. IT'S A TIE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT'S A TIE!"

Lee's disgruntled mood from before had vanished and the crowd was just as excited. The rest of the team were flying towards Harry, whooping in delight even though their Seeker lay injured. But Harry didn't mind, he was grinning stupidly even though he felt a crippling pain in his leg, waiting for the others to arrive.

* * *

The grin didn't wear off for a week. Despite the tie with Slytherin, by managing to catch the Snitch, he had given Gryffindor a good chance of actually winning the Quidditch Cup. Even Oliver wood, who collapsed from cheering too hard, had a grin plastered on his face while he was being carried off back to St. Mungo's. His elation came crashing down, when a chance glance out the window brought him face to face with the full moon looming in the sky. The sudden reminder of Remus was like a slap to the face and he felt terribly guilty for the past week.

A lot of people were applauding him on a brilliant match and even a few Slytherins grudgingly admitted that there had been some excellent flying. On top of that there was the piling homework and revision for the upcoming exams, so Harry had been distracted from thinking about the werewolf. His friends hadn't forgotten, but they were too happy to see him in such a good mood and decided not to remind him. Harry rounded on them quite angrily for that, but Hermione bluntly told him that there was nothing that they could do and sulking for Remus certainly wouldn't get him released.

He couldn't argue with Hermione's words, but it didn't stop him from sulking in the common room. He was sitting with his head down and was doodling in the corner of a sheet of parchment he was supposed to be writing a Potions essay on. Ron and Hermione were casting a glance in his direction every few minutes, but they both had their own homework to do.

"Harry! Harry!" came an all too cheery voice for Harry's current mood.

"Hello Colin." Harry sighed, but smiled slightly when he saw Ginny next to him.

"Hippo gave birth last night!" Colin looked excited.

Harry had to think for a moment before he understood what Colin had just said. "Oh, right. The horse..."

"Yeah, the winged horse." Ginny grinned at him. "We're going down to see her, do you want to come with us?"

Hermione looked up from her homework, "I don't think we should, it's too close to the forest."

"It's still a while before sunset, it'll be fine." Ron stood, picking up Fen, eager to take a break from his work.

"Don't worry! Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick are there already, quite a few people wanted to see the baby horse!" Colin said happily.

"Oh, right then." Hermione blinked at Colin's cheeriness.

"Harry, can you bring your camera?" Colin asked. "I really want to send a photo to my dad, I was hoping you could make a copy for me?"

Harry was certain Colin hadn't done it on purpose, but mentioning the camera was a sure way of making him go with them, whether he wanted to or not. He resisted the urge to sigh and said, "Sure. I'll just bring it down."

After a quick trip to his room, Harry and Ron led the way, walking briskly, leaving Hermione to handle Colin's non-stop questions. Just as they reached the stairs, Harry saw something glide out of the corner of his eyes. As he turned, he was hit by something, followed by a foul stench that made his eyes water.

"PEEVES!" Ron roared, covered in the same thing Harry was. The poltergeist only cackled in response, before he vanished into the walls.

"What is this? It's like he mixed a dungbomb with grease..." Harry gagged slightly. "At least, I hope that's what it is..."

"That smells horrible." Hermione's voice was muffled as she had the sleeve of her robes firmly over her nose. Ginny and Colin had taken several steps back. "Here, let me clear that up for you..."

She raised her wand at Harry and said, " _T_ _ergeo._ ", then she did the same for Ron. Some of the murky liquid vanished, but patches of it were still visible, and the smell wasn't completely gone either. Hermione tried the same spell a few more times, but she couldn't clean them completely.

"I'm not walking around like this." Harry said as he quickly checked his camera, it looked like it hadn't been hit by whatever Peeves had thrown at them. He hesitated before slipping the camera off his neck. "Colin, why don't you go on ahead. Take care of it, alright?"

Colin was bouncing on the spot. "I will!"

With that he shot down the stairs, with Ginny calling after him. "Wait!"

Hermione hesitated before turning to Ron and Harry, "Erm… I'll walk you back to the common room."

They spent the walk to the common room and back towards Hagrid's cabin discussing plots to get revenge on Peeves. Harry walked uncomfortably while he fidgeted with his robes. When he got to the room, he suddenly remembered the only set that still fit him reasonably well was underneath his bed, still covered in Oliver's blood, so he had to dig out an old set from the bottom of his trunk.

When they arrived at Hagrid's house, there was a small crowd, with the two professors standing near the back looking about for any signs of trouble. Hagrid was the only one inside the paddock, he wasn't allowing any of the students to approach the mare or the foal, which was prancing about with it's tiny wings fluttering. Hermione squealed in delight and Harry had to admit, it was quite a wonderful sight.

Harry turned his head away from the foal and moved about the students, trying to find Colin and Ginny. He noticed someone else who was also looking at the students, instead of the horses and Harry recognised her as a girl who he saw with Ginny quite often in the corridors. He walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, "I'm sorry, you're friends with Gin-"

"Oh, you're Harry Potter." she stated dreamily. "Ginny and Colin talk about you quite a lot..."

"Erm… yeah, sure." Harry said awkwardly, "Yeah about that, have you-"

"Yes, they seem to like you a lot..." her wide eyed staring was starting to make Harry feel uncomfortable. "They said they were going to ask if you wanted to see the baby horse, I wonder where they are…?"

Harry clamped his mouth shut and turned to have another look around, when a sudden gasp came from behind him. Professor Sprout said with a hint of alarm in her voice, "Everyone! Back to the castle, now!"

There was a murmur of confusion from the students and the Professor stepped forwards and herded the students away from the paddock. Flitwick was already rushing off, with his wand pointed at his throat. After a second came an immensely loud squeak from the tiny Professor, "Any student still outside the castle, please make your way inside. I repeat, any-"

Ron waited by the back looking at each passing face, while his own slowly turned very pale. "Where's Ginny?"

"Maybe they haven't come out yet?" Hermione said as Lavender and the Patil twins gave one final look at the foal before following Sprout, leaving the three of them the only ones there.

"Let's get back to the castle, we should check if they're there." Harry pulled his friend along, fighting the feeling of dread in his stomach. Ron swallowed and followed him.

They were falling behind the rest of the students, Ron was looking around, especially towards the forest, hoping to find his sister. It was then that Fenlutus poked her head out of his pocket and jumped onto the ground before shooting off, causing Ron to yelp, "Hey! Fen! Come back!"

She stopped after a few steps, waiting for the three young Gryffindors to catch up and Ron quickly picked her off the ground, "Fen! Why did y-"

Ron stopped mid sentence and leaned down, picking something else off the grass. He turned around, showing it to Harry and Hermione and said with a trembling voice, "This is Ginny's quill..."

* * *

 **A/N**

Thank you for all the reviewers! And I logged on today to find this fanfic in a community? Not 100% sure what that is, but I'm loving it all the same. =)

On a side note, I edited the first three chapters today. I think (I hope) my writing has improved a lot since I first started writing, and one of the reasons is that I've been spending a lot more time re-reading and editing before posting. So just a heads up, after I finish the third year I might have another break to get a few chapters done before I start posting again.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you next week! =)


	22. Year 3 - Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **The Serpents in the Woods**

"Something's happened to them..." Ron moaned quietly, his hand gripping the quill was shaking.

He took a step towards the forest, but Hermione caught his arm. "Ron! We can't go in there!"

Ron snarled and pulled his arm back, but Harry quickly gripped the red-head's shoulder, "Ron, even if they're in there, we'll have no idea where to go…"

"But, it's Ginny! It's my sister!" Ron said helplessly.

"Ron, the professors must know something already, the way Professor Sprout suddenly told us to get back to the castle." Hermione anxiously looked behind her as the rest of the students were quickly stepping out of sight. "We should go see Professor McGonagall…"

Ron heard the trembling in her voice and after a final look at the forest, he reluctantly turned around and started running back to the castle, Harry and Hermione close behind. It was only after Harry had taken several steps that he suddenly remembered, "McGonagall's gone to St. Mungo's. She went to pick up Wood."

But Ron didn't stop and just snapped, "We'll go to the Headmaster then."

As soon as they entered the castle, they mingled with the students that Professor Flitwick had gathered from the rest of the grounds. They pushed pass several people who were muttering with uneasiness at the situation, the professors weren't saying anything, but there was clearly something wrong. They ran up the stairs, ignoring the distracted scolding from Professor Sinistra and didn't stop until they reached the entrance to the Headmaster's office.

"Wh… what was the pas… password?" Ron huffed.

Harry looked at the gargoyle uncertainly. "I think it was cry-something? Crysi- cryso- I can't remember."

They turned to Hermione who was doubled over, clutching her sides, gasping for breath. Ron tapped his feet impatiently until Hermione managed to say, "Chrysopelea pelias."

The statue immediately jumped aside and Ron and Harry ran forwards, Hermione following with a little moan. Ron knocked on the door several times and opened it before they heard an answer. They stumbled inside calling out for the Headmaster, but he was nowhere in sight.

Ron immediately began to question the portraits, who all muttered indignantly at Ron's rudeness, while Hermione refused to take another step forwards, telling them they shouldn't be in here without Professor Riddle. Harry meanwhile noticed something on top of the Headmaster's desk, a shallow stone basin with carvings on the side, similar to what he'd seen when Hermione briefly showed him her Ancient Runes homework. There was a strange silvery white substance, shimmering and swirling inside, reminding him vaguely of Ravenclaw's memory-ghost that had helped them get rid of the Erisian last year.

Harry took an unconscious step forwards and felt something crack under his shoes. Ron turned around at the sound, "What was that?"

"I broke something." Harry answered as he lifted his feet to find broken shards of glass. He swept it to the side and walked up to the desk, Ron joined him and they both stared, entranced by the glimmering liquid light.

"What is that?" Ron asked and raised a hand forwards to touch it.

Hermione ran inside and hissed in alarm, "Ron, don't!"

But it was too late, just as Hermione reached them, the tip of Ron's finger touched the silvery stuff and it began to swirl rapidly, until it settled and the surface became transparent, where through the strange window they could see what was unmistakably the grounds at Hogwarts. They stared silently, as two figures slowly walked into view.

"That's Ginny and Colin!" Ron exclaimed and he leaned forwards to get a better look. Just as the tip of his long freckled nose touched the strange substance he let out a yelp and Harry and Hermione watched in surprise as their friend seemed to be sucked into the stone basin. Harry only waited a moment before he plunged his head inside as well and with a stomach churning lurch he felt himself fall for several seconds before he landed, feet first, onto grass. Ron was next to him staring at him in complete confusion, "Did we just Apparate?"

"I've told you several times Ron, you can't Apparate within Hogwarts!" Hermione landed next to them and shouted, sounding slightly hysterical. "We need to go back, we'll be in so much trouble..."

"There they are!" Harry shouted as he pointed at Ginny and Colin walking towards them, talking and laughing about something. They ran towards the two second years, shouting their names but they were being ignored completely. "Ginny-"

Harry raised his arm but jumped back when Ginny passed right though it and continued to walk as if she couldn't see or hear him. Ron shouted at them until he was red in the face until Hermione gently laid a hand on his shoulder, "I don't think… this is happening right now, it must be… a memory or something. Look, this is where we found her quill."

"-so cool! Look at all these- this one can take a picture of someone invisible! Harry told me!" Harry winced as Colin excitedly turned the camera over in his hands, with the strap not properly around his neck.

Ginny sighed with a slight smile. "I know, I was there when he told us."

"I can't believe he's letting me hold it, Harry's so cool!" Harry blushed as Colin recounted several ways in which Harry was 'cool'.

"I keep telling you, he doesn't like it when people look at him like that." Ginny rolled her eyes. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Well he's not here so- oh no!" Harry closed his eyes as the camera dropped onto the ground with a thump. Blood drained from Colin's face as he quickly picked it up, looking for any signs of damage before he started scratching at the camera with his little finger. "Something's stuck here..."

"Let me see." Ginny said and Harry peered over her shoulders, it seemed a tiny pebble was caught between two switches, firmly refusing to budge. Ginny then took out her quill and carefully dislodged it with the tip, before handing the camera back to Colin. "I won't tell him but... just be careful, okay?"

Colin nodded furiously and some colour came back into his pale cheeks. He quickly pulled it over his head, "We should hurry, Luna will be waiti-"

Harry, Ron and Hermione shouted in surprise a second before Colin and Ginny, when a figure suddenly jumped out of the forest and ran towards them, wand raised. Within seconds the two young Gryffindors were knocked unconscious and the man in ragged robes lifted them under his arms and started running back towards the forest. They followed him, trying hard to keep up, but even while carrying two children the man was much faster. Just when they thought they'd lose sight of him, the surroundings blurred and they seemed to jump forwards several feet. This continued for several minutes and they were starting to feel slightly nauseous, when the man came to a stop and turned around, he seemed to be staring right at them.

"Riddle, we have two of your students. You will come alone to meet us, do not contact the Ministry, do not tell your staff, come alone or we will leave them... worse than dead." the rasping bark sent a chill down their spines. The wizard then dropped Ginny and Colin onto the ground, none to gently, and raised his wand to his temples and everything froze.

They were stunned into silence, but then they felt something drag them back and lift them off the ground, exactly in the same position they had fallen into the memory but reversed. They were back in the Headmaster's office and they stared at each other, the wonder of what they had just experienced lost in the fact that they had just witnessed two people being kidnapped, one of them Ron's own sister. The red-haired boy swallowed several times and managed to croak out, "Is that… did that really happen?"

Hermione looked at Ron for a moment before nodding shakily. Ron let out a whimper before running out of the office, Harry tried to grab his arm but it was brushed off. "Ron wait!"

They followed Ron down the stairs calling for him to wait. The corridors seemed mostly empty, the few students that they saw were heading in the direction of the Great Hall. Harry saw Ron turn a corner and bump into someone, almost staggering to the floor.

"Ron! Harry! Where have you been? Do you know what's going on?" Ernie asked as he saw his ashen faced friends. Sue was with him, looking worried. "Where's Hermione?"

Harry took the opportunity to grab Ron's arm, holding it firmly and preventing him from running off again. He took a moment to catch his breath and answered. "It's Ginny and Colin, they've been taken..."

Harry explained to them what they saw in the Headmaster's office, tightening his grip on Ron when he tried to pull away. Hermione eventually joined them as well, her face slightly green from all the running. "...R...Ro...Ron… wa… wait..."

"Let go!" Ron snarled, "I'm going after them!"

"No." Harry said determindly, " _We're_ going after them."

"But… you said the wizard told Professor Riddle to come alone, didn't you?" Sue said anxiously, Hermione agreeing with her between gasps of breath.

"That's exactly why we need to go." Harry said determinedly. "He said no Ministry, no professors, we're neither. He might be able to handle it on his own, but if he can't, we might be able to help."

Ernie and Sue looked at each other for a moment before nodding, "Alright, we'll help."

Hermione let out a strangled groan, "I really think we should tell someone what's going on..."

Ron glared at Hermione but Harry quickly said, "You're right. Hermione, can you get into the boys dormitories? The mirror I use to talk to Sirius is next to my bed, just say his name and he should answer. Tell him everyt- Ron, we need to tell someone what's happening! Tell him everything, including the fact that he told the Headmaster not to contact anyone, he'll know what to do."

"But… I… I can't just leave you to..." Hermione whispered nervously.

"We need someone to tell Sirius what happened, you'll be able to explain it better than the rest of us." Harry said quickly, Ron was visibly becoming impatient again. Hermione gave them a weak nod before breaking into a run again, towards Gryffindor Tower. Harry, Ron, Ernie and Sue meanwhile, made their way towards the entrance hall.

"They gathered everyone in the Great Hall," Ernie explained to them on the way, "when we couldn't find you, we sneaked out."

When they finally reached the entrance hall, they stopped at the top of the stairs. Filch was standing by the doors, wand in hand peering about nervously, obviously there to stop any students from trying to leave the castle. Ron hissed in annoyance.

"Someone needs to distract him..." Harry whispered.

There was a brief argument as none of them wanted to be the one to stay behind, Ernie said slightly forcefully, "Sue, it has to be you."

Sue glared at him, "Why?"

"Ron won't stay behind, and if Ron's going Harry's not going to stay behind either." Ernie whispered, then looked at her nervously. "And… erm… I don't… please..."

Sue opened her mouth to argue but Ron gave a low growl and raised his wand at the unsuspecting caretaker. Sue quickly grabbed his arm and lowered it to the floor, "Fine! I'll do it… just give me a few minutes..."

She rushed off while Harry held onto Ron's arm in case he decided to curse his way pass Filch. After a few minutes, there was a loud scream coming from one of the corridors leading to the entrance, making Ernie flinch. Filch raised his wand in the direction and called out, but Sue obviously didn't reply. After a moment's hesitation, he started running towards the sound. As soon as he was out of sight, the three students ran down the stairs, pushed open the door and left the castle. They quickly made their way to the spot where they found the quill and after taking a deep breath, stepped into the forest.

"I think they went this way..." Ron muttered without slowing down. Harry tried to remember the path the wizard in the memory bowl had taken with Colin and Ginny, but his recollection of it had been literally blurred as the memory tried to keep up with the kidnapper's fast pace. After a quick discussion, they decided that for a while at least, speed would be better than stealth, so they all whispered " _Lumos._ " and stalked deeper into the ever-darkening woods. It turned out that they didn't really have to worry about finding their way through the forest, when Harry saw something and suddenly realised how eerily quiet the place was.

"Look!" Harry lowered his wand towards the ground, where illuminated by his wandlight was a snake, one of Professor Riddle's. It might have been reassuring to find Legion here, if not for the fact that it was unmoving, coiled in a strange shape, it's fang's embedded deep within it's own tail. Harry tried to shake it awake, whispering in Parseltongue, but nothing he did would stir it. They left the sleeping serpent and continue on where they saw more and more of Riddle's snakes, all wrapped around themselves and silent, creating a border of an invisible path they they knew were leading them towards Ginny and Colin.

They kept walking and it seemed to get darker, Harry was unsure if it was because they were going deeper into the woods, or if the sun was slowly setting. The initial resoluteness they felt when they decided to enter the forest was waning, slowly replaced by a nervous fatigue, their bodies tense and flinching at the sound of every wind caressed leaf. A sudden voice coming from nowhere caused the three boys to jump, rooting them on the spot. "I'm very glad you have decided to come..."

They immediately extinguished their wandlights and looked around for the source of the voice, but it felt like the sound was coming from every direction, as if the forest itself was speaking to them. They huddled together, pointing their wands at the trees and Harry let out a frightened whisper, "Who… who's there?"

There was no reply for a moment, then it came again, neither masculine or feminine and not quite human either. "You remember me Tom? I am surprised, since we exchanged few words that day. I apologise for leaving like I did … I was not completely… myself that day."

"He hasn't found us, he's speaking to the Headmaster!" Ernie exclaimed in a whisper. They stood up and after taking a moment to make sure nothing was going to jump out at them, they started moving again, more slowly this time, without the light from their wands to help them.

"As you can see they are frightened, but unharmed. No spells, no... bites. As long as you listen, there will be no… unpleasantness." Ron looked at his two friends with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, it seemed that Ginny and Colin were unhurt. For now at least.

"...his reach lies far beyond the grave. He is not yet reborn, but he shall return, greater than before... and we will be a force with no equal..." Harry shivered at the words. They eventually slowed down as they neared a light shining through the branches. "Yes… your snakes, did you like my little trick? A minor inconvenience-"

They crouched low and crept silently, until they reached a clearing in the woods. It wasn't natural, there were uprooted trees lining the edges and scorch marks all over the ground. They crawled behind one of the fallen trees, hiding behind it's branches and chanced a peek at the figures they could see standing there. Professor Riddle was there, wearing a heavy green cloak, with his wand held tightly in his hand, but not raised. He was opposite two figures, one was the huge, grubby robed wizard that they had seen in the memory and the other a short man, barely taller than the three boys watching him, who appeared to be looking around nervously with his lighted wand raised above his head. Behind the two, near the edge of the clearing, Ginny and Colin were sitting with their arms, presumably tied, behind the only two trees left standing.

"How did you come by that conclusion?" Harry's eyes widened as he saw, from the light cast from the wizard's wand, that neither of the two wizards had opened their mouths, there was another person somewhere.

"Ever since Hogwarts was breached two years ago, I have been looking for other Parselmouths." Riddle spoke with a surprising calm. "There are hardly any of us remaining-"

"It is a dying art." the voice sounded amused.

"Yes. I've been sifting through records going back decades, each name a literal dead end. I searched the furthest reaches of our world for months and eventually reached the conclusion that the answer was far closer to home... I am not the last of the Gaunt bloodline." Riddle said slowly.

There was a moment of silence before the reply came slowly. "I will not deny it Tom, and perhaps… we can end this without violence. It would be a shame to lose any more of us… I have come for your head, but instead, I will accept your loyalty."

"Loyalty? You take my students hostage and expect me to join you?" Riddle scoffed in disbelief. "I am loyal to my students and my school, I will never betray their trust."

"You may be loyal to them, but do they return it? What did you find when you tracked down those Parselmouths? Every last one of them killed or driven to exile. Albus Dumbledore even refused you, when you asked to join his little Order." there was a cold breeze shaking the branches, the rustling leaves almost sounding like mocking laughter. "They fear and loathe you, and they will eventually turn against you. The mistrust of Parselmouths runs too deep to be ever wiped clean by your attempts at peacemaking at a school. No, there is only one way for you to gain loyalty. Power, it is the only thing they will respect. So I ask you one last time, blood of my blood, heir of Slytherin, join us help us take this world back from the disease that plagues it. Help us take this world back from the Mugg-"

There was a pause and more rustling of leaves. The kidnapper nodded at thin air and made his way pass the Headmaster and out of the clearing. The three boys turned their heads to watch the figure vanish into the woods. "I thought I made it clear Tom, you were to come alone..."

Harry, Ron and Ernie immediately flinched and crouched down, thinking they were spotted. "I told the staff to remain in the castle and I have not contacted the Ministry. I came alone."

"Then why is a wizard coming our way Tom? I suppose it doesn't matter, Greyback will deal with it..." the voice said casually. "Now Tom, your answer please..."

Harry didn't hear the Headmaster's answer, he only heard the pounding of blood in this ears as he suddenly felt a hand wrap around his mouth, but before he could let out a muffled scream, there was a whisper in his ear. Harry barely heard it and he struggled, but something gripped is arms tightly so he wouldn't trash about. The voice spoke several times before he recognised it, so he gave a shaky nod and when he felt the hand move away he turned around, but could see no one behind him. "Sirius?"

"I'm here. I'm disillusioned, practically invisible in the dark." Sirius whispered again. "Tell Ron and Ernie I'm here, I don't want to startle them.

Harry noticed that his friends were staring at him as in their eyes, he probably looked like he was going mad, with his body jerking about and whispering into thin air. He quickly leaned over and told his friends about Sirius, they both flinched when someone grabbed their arms, but didn't make a noise. The relief at a fully trained Auror being present showed on all their faces. They quickly answered the questions Sirius directed at them. He contemplated the situation for a moment before he spoke again, his voice tense and ready for action. "Okay, the Headmaster might kill me for this, but I could use your help. Harry told me that you were practising Stunning Spells? Can you all use it?"

"Yeah." Ron whispered nervously. "Ernie's probably the best out us three."

"Okay then, Harry and Ron, you two go around and get to Ginny and Colin, Ernie, you..." Ernie was directed into place by Sirius' invisible hands, "stand here with your wand aimed at him. Have a Stunning Charm ready and use it at my signal. Okay, now hold still for a moment..."

Harry and Ron watched in astonishment as Ernie seemed to vanish into thin air. If they looked closely, they could see the wavering movements as the boy moved his arms to watch himself disappear. Like Sirius, he had now taken the colour of his surroundings. The same thing happened to Ron then finally Harry flinched as he felt a wand tap the top of his head, and he felt as if something was trickling down onto his face and body from the spot. Harry raised his hands close to his face and he could see that he wasn't completely invisible, but in the dark woods, no one would be able to see them.

"Okay, try to stay out of the light and walk slowly, they'll still be able to hear you if you stumble into something. Make sure you don't trip over each other either." Sirius cautioned them then muttered a few more words of instruction, handing them knives he conjured from thin air.

Harry nodded before realising it wouldn't be visible. "Okay."

Ron gripped Harry's arm tightly and they slowly made their way around the edge of the clearing, so they could reach the two second years that were tied up. The voice spoke up again, "That is unfortunate. Your head it is then..."

Ron stopped moving and tugged Harry in closer and whispered, "I'll get Ginny, you get Colin."

"Come get it, if you think you can." Riddle's body tensed.

Harry slowly crept to the tree and he saw Colin's hands bound behind the trunk. Like Sirius had done, Harry put his hand over Colin's mouth and whispered quickly. "It's me, Harry. Don't make a sound and stay still."

"We are not duelling, Tom, this is an execution." the voice was quiet. Dangerous. "You raise your wand and my friend here will kill them. Accept your death and we'll let them go."

Harry froze as the small wizard pointed his wand directly at Colin, although he was still facing the Headmaster.

"Peter." Professor Riddle said suddenly. "Peter Pettigrew."

The wizard gave a snarl and turned his wand back towards the wizard in the middle of the clearing. "Headmaster..."

Harry quickly pulled out the knife and began to cut the bindings, taking care not to hurt Colin in the process. When the ropes fell Colin flexed his hands but didn't move them, they couldn't risk the kidnappers finding out about it yet. He glared at the back of the short wizard, resisting the urge to send a curse and waited for Sirius' signal.

"It's been too long Peter. I tried to contact you after you left Hogwarts, but to find you working with Grindelwald's followers…" the regret was evident in Professor Riddle's voice. "What happened?"

"I found a better mentor." the wizard's reply was full of contempt.

"You would kill children for this mentor?" Riddle asked sadly.

"Without hesitation." came the cold reply.

Professor Riddle gave a heavy sigh, then turned away from his former student. "If I am to die, I would like to see the face of my executioner. Show yourself Gaunt."

"Colin, get ready to run..." Harry slowly crawled forwards until he had one hand gripping the boy's arm tightly. Colin's eyes widened when he realised Harry was invisible, but they were shining with grateful tears.

There was complete silence, so Harry could hear the soft scrape of someone walking nearby. He tensed when he noticed a leaf being crumbled only a few feet away from them, he watched the ground carefully and he could follow the footsteps of this invisible person, slowly walking towards the Headmaster. When the figure spoke again, it was no longer ringing throughout the forest, but it was still disguised. "Very well..."

Just at that moment there was a blood-curdling howl and something crashed through the trees. Harry recognised the grimy robes, taut against the bulky body, but the head of the thing standing there was completely different from the man that had taken the hostages. It had wild yellow eyes and a long snout, foaming drool as it growled at the scene before it. Then with a savage bark it leapt towards Professor Riddle.

"NOW!" Sirius yelled, then a red flash shot out from the Headmaster's back and hit the creature squarely in the chest. It staggered back a few inches, but it shrugged off the effects of the spell and continued forwards. The same red flash also came from where they had left Ernie, but he didn't hit his target and the short wizard spun around, sending several curses back.

"PETTIGREW! KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" the voice roared, then Harry saw a hand briefly appear mid-air, gripping a wand. " _FINITE INCANTATEM!_ "

Sirius slowly materialised from the head, down to his toes, as the counter-spell was used. He was standing back to back with the Headmaster, and was launching spells at the incoming werewolf. A soft squeak from Colin told Harry that he was now visible as well. Before he could react, the wizard Pettigrew had turned to face them and Harry was flung onto the ground, feeling something digging against his back. He raised his wand and launched a few spells, but they were all deflected easily, "Ron, take them and run!"

Harry heard several clicking and whirling noises and Ron shouted in frustration, "Colin! Now's not the time!"

"Harry Potter?" the voice hissed. "Leave him alive! Kill th-"

" _Nagini!_ " Professor Riddle hissed while he threw off his cloak, revealing his familiar wrapped tightly around his body. It dropped to the ground with a thud, then flung itself forwards, wrapping around something invisible, giving the impression that it was hovering mid-air. Riddle was only a step behind, shooting off several curses and deflecting more back.

Professor Riddle was duelling his invisible foe and Sirius was attempting to keep the werewolf at bay. Harry stood up and looked around, he gave a little sigh of relief when he saw Ron and the others had gone, until his eyes met the short wizard. Pettigrew snarled at him with hatred in his eyes and approached with his wand raised. " _Cruc-_ "

" _Stupefy!_ " Ernie jumped out from the trees and shouted. This time his aim was true, but before the spell connected, the wizard whipped around and produced a shield. The red flash was deflected straight back and Ernie dropped to the ground with a surprised look on his face. " _Expelliarmus!_ "

Harry's wand shot out of his hand and went straight into Pettigrew's. He flew back again, this time crashing into the tree that Colin had been tied up against and was held there by the wizard's magic. "Harry Potter… You look very much… like your father."

"You… knew… my… father…?" Harry choked out, while his mind was racing. He gritted his teeth when the wizard put Harry's wand inside a pocket, he needed to get it back, he was helpless without it. As Pettigrew came closer, he felt himself rise a few inches further and he let out a cry of pain as he felt something hard against his back. Then his eyes widened, his old robes… if he could only get a chance.

"Yes I knew him. Potter and Black, boys who would much rather hang around a werewolf than..." Pettigrew scowled, turning his head towards the beast Sirius was facing. "Disgusting creatures, every single one of them..."

Harry took in a sharp breath as he felt something at his feet, slowly climbing up his legs. Pettigrew was still glaring at Sirius and the werewolf, who were looking less like a duelling pair of wizards, but some kind of circus act, with the Auror leaping and dodging the claws and fangs of the rabid creature, before spinning around and shooting off a few spells. Harry shuddered as he felt something brush up against his face and crawl onto the top of his head. He tilted his head up slightly, raising his eyes and saw the end of something grey and furry, it's familiar nose twitching and Harry whispered in disbelief, "Fen…?"

Pettigrew turned back to him and for a second the look of complete confusion on his face almost made Harry want to laugh. Pettigrew's eyes narrowed as he raised his wand, "That bloody thing…!"

But before he could do anything, Fenlutus dug her paws into the top of Harry's head, and leapt off, right into the squat wizard's face. There was a surprised yelp followed by a long hiss of pain and Harry dropped to the ground, stumbling slightly. He quickly put his hand into the pocket at the back and pulled out the small silver bottle that he had spent much of the past month worrying about. Pettigrew was flailing about, trying to pry the mongoose off his face, but every time he he got his hands around it's body, sharp spines would appear and he would cry out in pain and let go.

Eventually Pettigrew managed to get his hands around it's bushy tail and pulled it off his face, which was badly scratched and bleeding. He raised his arm as if he was going to throw the creature, but Harry jumped on his back pulling the Nullificare Charm over Pettigrew's head. The wizard dropped Fenlutus and let out a brief roar of anger, before he gasped and doubled over. "W..what did you do?"

Harry still held on tight, with one arm around the man's neck, clutching the charm, while his other hand was digging through his robes in an attempt to find his stolen wand. Pettigrew tried to fight back, but he was weak and shaking, gagging several times as if he wanted to vomit and eventually he dropped to the ground, with Harry on top of him. Harry finally managed to pull his wand out and said a Stunning Charm with the tip only inches away from Pettigrew's body. With a shaky gasp, which almost sounded grateful, the wizard fell unconscious.

Harry stood up as he heard a loud crunch to find Sirius standing over the werewolf and a half-broken tree, gasping for breath. The werewolf's head was twisted almost completely around, Harry couldn't look away as it twitched and gurgled, before lying completely still. Sirius looked in Harry's direction and gave him a weak wave and Harry sent one back, indicating he was fine, although he was shaken at having just watched something, or rather, someone die. Then they both looked at the duel that was still happening between the two Parselmouths. They had edged away from the others, and were using spells that broke apart the earth and froze the very air they were breathing. Harry shuddered at the sight, thankful that they weren't caught in the middle.

Harry picked up Fen, who was looking dazed and after a quick check decided that the blood that covered her sleek body was once again, not her own. Her spines had retracted as well. He then dashed over to Ernie and whispered, " _Rennervate._ ", causing his friend to wake up, blinking. He had several cuts and there was an unhealthy looking green bruise on jaw that was slowly spreading. Ernie raised his hand to the spot and hissed in pain. Harry quickly called for Sirius.

" _Rouhderwant!_ " a think screen of black smoke emerged rapidly from the spot where Nagini was still coiled around someone. There were coughs and shouts and eventually Professor Riddle was thrown out. He rolled once, before jumping to his feet and pointed his wand at the smoke, blowing out a gust of air that dissipated it instantly. Nagini was on the ground.

"Stay here." Sirius said to Ernie, after using a spell that reduced the bruising slightly. He then ran over to the Headmaster, who was crouching over his familiar. Harry walked over as well and he could hear the soft hissing conversation between master and familiar and Harry sighed in relief. Sirius waved his wand, muttering a silent spell. "Riddle? What happened?"

"Sirius, go find the other students, make sure they're okay." Riddle ordered sharply and before waiting for a response he was back on his feet, rushing towards the castle.

Ernie who was slowly walking towards them said, "Ron and the others ran pass me, they were going that way."

"Alright, can you show me where?" Sirius said, then he glanced at Harry. "Why don't you stay here and catch your breath?"

As Sirius and Ernie ran off, Harry checked Pettigrew to make sure he was still unconscious and then his eyes wandered to the corpse of the werewolf. Feeling dizzy at the sight, he wanted to drop to the floor and lie down but the mongoose he was still carrying had recovered and was struggling against his hands. "Fen! Hold still!"

But she didn't listen to him and dropped to the ground, before rushing off in the same direction Professor Riddle had gone. Harry let out a groan of annoyance but quickly gave chase, after all, she had saved him just moments ago. Leaving the clearing meant walking into pitch black, as the pale moonlight didn't penetrate the towering trees, so he quickly lighted his wand and followed.

He could barely make out the small creature ahead of him, but in the end his hearing helped a lot more than his vision. He could hear the noises from the effects of the curses the Headmaster and the intruder were blasting at each other, while they moved closer to the school.

By the time Harry had reached the edge of the forest, his face and arms were covered in tiny scratches, but he finally caught up to Fen, who was standing a few paces behind the Headmaster, emitting a low hiss. He crept forwards and gingerly picked her up, Riddle cast a quick glance backwards when he heard Harry, before turning to face the Parselmouth again.

" _Tom Riddle,_ _blood of Salazar,_ _we never expected you to become such an obstacle._ _Morgana take your soul, traitor to your blood..._ " Harry held Fen tightly against his chest, shivering at the icy hiss.

There were more words in Parseltongue, so soft that Harry couldn't make them out, but then a different voice, a harsher, rougher voice cried out, " _Let me rip… Let me tear… Let me taste their blood!_ "

"Harry, close your eyes and don't open them until I say so! _Protego!_ " Harry immediately followed the Headmaster's instructions, feeling vulnerable as Fen's hissing became louder. " _I command you,_ _King of the Serpents, avert your gaze and stand down!_ "

" _You_ _can_ _not command me!_ " came a cackling hiss in reply. Fenlutus was once again struggling against Harry, but this time he kept her in a tight grip, cradled in his arms. But she really wanted to get away from him and Harry felt her dig her sharp teeth into his fingers and dropped her with a yelp. He cried out for her but with his eyes firmly shut, he had no idea what was going on, but he heard the soft rustling as the mongoose slid through the tall grass.

" _Beast of Mafdet!_ " the harsh voice cried out in surprise. Harry heard a loud angry yowl, which he presumed was Fenlutus, followed by the sound of two animals fighting. There was more rustling and hissing, before a sharp gasp of pain from the creature.

"Ichneumon..." Professor Riddle said in awe.

Harry risked a glance by opening a single eye by a crack. The Headmaster stood in front of him with his wand raised and lighted and beyond him was a snake, at least ten feet long, with poisonous green skin, that would have terrified Harry if not for the fact that it was thrashing about violently, slamming itself onto the ground. In the middle of it's slender body, was a bulbous lump, as if it had swallowed something wider than itself.

Harry gasped when he saw the bulge move a few inches further down the snake and sharp spines tore through the skin, blood and gore flying everywhere as the helpless animal struggled from the attack within itself. With a final hiss of pain, it slammed it's head onto the ground and with it's forked tongue lolled out on the grass and eyes bleeding, it stilled completely. The lump inside the snake seemed to turn around and through the widened jaws, Fenlutus emerged covered with enough blood and… bits of the snake to make Harry feel slightly sick.

Fen walked casually and leapt up onto Harry's arms, looking awfully pleased with herself. Unlike Harry, who was cringing, Riddle stared at the creature in wonder for a moment before shaking his head and running forwards to the dead snake. Harry followed him and stood behind the Professor as he knelt on the ground, his hands brushing through the tall grass just behind the dead serpent. He stopped and pointed his wand at the ground, muttering a silent spell, before moving his hand over a spot and pushed until his whole arm went through what looked very much like solid earth. He turned to Harry with a grimace, "This must be how they managed to pass through the wards… Let's see where this leads, shall we? _Serpensortia legionis!_ "

Three snakes came out of his wand in quick succession and after a quick hiss of instruction from Professor Riddle, they slithered in through the passageway in the ground. Then he pointed his wand and muttered several spells on the spot the snakes had disappeared into, Harry momentarily saw something shimmer before becoming transparent and invisible. The Headmaster turned to Harry with a tired smile, "Shall we go see how the others are doing?"


	23. Year 3 - Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Gaunt Revelations**

Harry and Professor Riddle were planning on going back to find the others, but they emerged from the woods, looking pale and shaken, but otherwise unhurt. Sirius instantly launched himself at Harry, shouting at him for disappearing, until Professor Riddle pulled him aside to talk quietly. Fen leapt onto Ron, who looked horrified at the state of her, but after Harry's reassurances, he quickly began to wipe the animal with his robes, picking bits of flesh off her, determinedly ignoring her whines as she begged him to feed her some. Ginny and Colin both jumped at Harry, wrapping him in tight hugs and showering him in gratitude, causing Harry to blush in embarrassment.

Sirius rushed back into the forest and Professor Riddle promptly escorted them to the hospital wing, handing over the unconscious Pettigrew, who Sirius had brought using his wand, to a flustered Professor McGonagall along the way. Madam Pomfrey's eyes widened with shock when the Headmaster told her where the students had been and fussed over every single one of them. They were soon joined by the rest of the Weasley siblings, as well as their parents who were called in when the professors found out that Ginny had been taken. There was also a bewildered looking man, who rushed over to give Colin a tight hug. It turned out to be Colin's father, a milkman from Dover.

The boys were pulled away from the thankful parents and were eventually taken to their common rooms, where McGonagall told Harry and Ron that they were to go straight to bed. Ginny and Colin stayed in the hospital wing overnight, as well as Ernie, who had been unfortunately hexed when Pettigrew was blindly sending spells through the trees. Any ill effects were undone by Sirius before they even left the forest, but when Madam Pomfrey heard what happened, she screeched and ordered him into a bed, ignoring the boy's protests. The common room and their dormitory was empty when they got there, everyone was still gathered in the Great Hall and so Harry and Ron could thankfully fall asleep before they were questioned by their curious house mates.

Despite the next morning being a Sunday, they all woke up early to go see Remus. Now that the werewolf behind Oliver's attacker had been identified, Sirius had not waited another second before taking the corpse to the Ministry. Harry, Ron and Hermione left Gryffindor Tower, meeting Ernie and Sue on the way. Ernie managed to sneak away early in the morning, leaving a note saying he was feeling fine and the fact that the school matron wasn't breathing down their necks seemed to indicate that she agreed with Ernie's non-professional assessment.

Hagrid opened the door for them and they saw Remus sitting on the table, sipping a cup of tea. He looked truly terrible, his cheeks were hollow and his skin a sickly grey, but the smile he gave the students by the door was bright and genuine. He had arrived back to Hogwarts early in the morning. Sirius stayed in Azkaban during the night and carried his friend out himself as soon as he transformed back, since he wasn't given Wolfsbane Potion while imprisoned. But he had woken up with his friend sitting by his bedside and he was shocked, crying tears of joy at the fact that he was no longer in that terrible place. Sirius stayed up long enough to make sure Remus was okay, before heading upstairs for some sleep in a spare bedroom.

Remus quietly reassured them that Madam Pomfrey had already been down to check up on him, but he had refused to stay in the hospital wing, opting for hot tea and lots of chocolates instead. They all thankfully accepted the tea Hagrid offered them, as well as several chunks of chocolate and they began to tell the story of what had happened in the Forbidden Forest.

They began with finding Ginny's quill in the grass, briefly pausing when Hagrid and Remus explained to them what a Pensieve was, then told everyone what they had found when they followed the trail of serpents. Remus looked shocked, impressed and horrified at what they had gone through, then settled on a cold and satisfied anger when Harry mentioned the name 'Greyback'. It turned out that Fenrir Greyback was an infamous werewolf in the wizarding world, known to everyone in the room apart from Harry and Hermione. Greyback's death was fitting in a way, as it turned out that he was the very werewolf from which Remus received his curse and now his death had set him free.

Remus' eyes also widened when they mentioned the wizard Pettigrew. Peter Pettigrew was a former student of Hogwarts and, Harry was horrified to find, someone who had shared a dormitory with his father and Sirius for many years. Remus had never spoken to Peter during his time in Hogwarts but told them that James and Sirius had never been close to the boy, especially after a fight a few weeks into their first year concerning their friendship with Remus. The unremarkable boy had been fearful of them bringing the lycanthropic disease into the school and spreading it to him. During their sixth year at Hogwarts, Peter had to repeat his fifth for failing to get sufficient grades to pass his O.W.L.s. He stayed on for a few months before eventually deciding to drop out of school altogether.

When Harry asked Hagrid what had happened to the man, Hagrid let out an annoyed grunt. "He managed to escape."

"How?" Harry asked, looking shocked. Pettigrew had been unconscious and bound tightly with conjured ropes when they last saw him.

"We're not sure. Professor McGonagall locked him in a room, then left momentarily to get something from Professor Snape. When they came back, he was just gone." Hagrid sighed. "We spent the night looking for him and at dawn enough of Tom's snakes recovered to thoroughly search the whole place, but… he just disappeared..."

"What about the way they came into the school?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Nah, Tom's got that covered. It was an undiscovered secret passageway in the grounds leading to Hogsmeade. He said you were there when he found it." Hagrid said looking at Harry.

"Oh right. Yeah, I was there." Harry said. Remus' reaction to the names of the intruders had interrupted their story for a moment.

"Sirius said you ran off after Professor Riddle?" Remus asked with an amused look. "He actually called you a bloody idiot with a death wish, but..."

"It wasn't my fault, it was..." Harry stopped and glared in Ron's direction, who stared back at him blankly.

"What did I do?" Ron asked defensively.

"Not you, _her._ " Harry pointed at the animal on Ron's lap. They had been so tired after the relief of coming out of the ordeal alive, that Harry had completely forgotten about the animal until that moment. "So as I was saying, I was caught by Pettigrew and he was saying how much he hated werewolves and..."

He told them how he and the mongoose had managed to overpower the fully trained wizard, using sharp claws and a Nullificare Charm, then how he tried to chase after Fen when the mongoose decided to go after the Headmaster and the leader of the intruders.

When he told them about the Headmaster's sharp orders to close his eyes, Hermione and Sue both gasped, "A Basilisk!"

"Like the one that was in the Chamber of Secrets?" Ernie mouth dropped open,

"It was." Hagrid looked very pleased at the mention of a deadly creature, ignoring the fact the last time there was a Basilisk in the school, he was expelled for a short while and another student was killed. "It was still young, only a few years old, but it's eyes could still kill. It was a miracle you managed to survive really, a fuzzy little miracle..."

Ron caught Hagrid staring at Fenlutus and frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Hagrid just gestured at Harry so he continued, "Well, I had my eyes closed, but I heard this… choking sound? So I opened my eyes, just a tiny bit, and I saw..."

By the end, everyone was staring uncertainly at Fenlutus, who was, like always, dozing peacefully in Ron's lap. Being torn apart from the inside out wasn't a pleasant way to go and everyone looked completely horrified, apart from Hagrid, who was looking as if he'd been told he was going to get three dragons for his birthday next year.

"But... what is it?" Hermione whispered, as if trying not to wake the 'mongoose'.

"Erm… Professor Riddle called it an Icc… no an Itch… erm… no it was..." Harry scratched his head uncertainly.

"Ichneumon." Hagrid said helpfully and cleared his throat and straightened his back, as he did during his Care of Magical Creatures lessons. "The Ichneumon, also called the Echinemon, is a very rare magical creature related to the mongoose. They are know to be the mortal enemy of all serpents and are one of the very few creatures that are immune to the gaze of a Basilisk, as well as resistant to their poison to some degree. Physically they're no match for the King of the Serpents, but they make up for their smaller size with the vicious ability to crawl inside their prey and completely mince their insides, using the spines around their necks."

"Why couldn't you tell what it was when you first saw it then?" Hermione frowned.

Hagrid shook his head and chuckled. "Ichneumon are usually much larger than Fen here, they can be as big as a medium sized dog. Also, the spines don't normally retract, it lies flat on it's back but it's always visible. I'm pretty sure that this is a cross-breed between an Ichneumon and a non-magical mongoose."

"Why would anyone do that?" Ron scratched his pet's head fondly.

"Well, Tom and I both agree she was probably created by a dragon poacher." Hagrid said with an excited glint in his eye. "The thing is, they don't just go after snakes, they're very aggressive towards dragons as well. A single Ichneumon could easily kill a dragon and they breed a lot faster, so wizards have always kept a close eye on their population, culling them if they started spreading too fast or towards a known dragon habitat. There used to be a species of dragon called the Nubian Siltcrawler around Egypt, but they were wiped out by these little buggers some time during the tenth century."

"But… isn't experimental cross-breeding illegal?" Ernie asked.

Ron's eyes widened. "What do you mean? What's going to happen to Fen?"

"Erm… well, that is..." Hagrid scratched his beard as his smile faded. "If it were just me and Tom, we'd be more than happy to let you keep her, but the Aurors have already been here and they saw the Basilisk's remains. They'll manage to work out what killed it soon enough..."

"What will they do?" Ron frowned, as if he was unsure what the Professor was saying.

"Well, your father works for the Ministry, so you must have heard stories about people who did these kind of experiments..." Hagrid said gently.

"I did, but Fen isn't like that, she's not… they can't…" Ron whispered. "They can't just… _kill_ her..."

"No!" surprisingly, it was Hermione that shouted. "They can't! If it wasn't for her, the Basilisk could have killed everyone! We'll all give statements saying she hasn't ever attacked anything unprovoked!"

Hagrid looked at Hermione and hesitated briefly before turning to Ron, who was holding Fen tightly in his arms. "I can't promise you anything, but both Tom and I know a few people in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Once the dust settles from the whole werewolf incident, we were planning on getting in contact with them. We'll try and convince them to let you keep her."

Ron didn't look very reassured. Harry didn't know if Professor Riddle would have been able to get rid of the Basilisk by himself, but he was sure if it wasn't for Fen, they might not have all come out unharmed. He certainly wouldn't have. "They can't just take her away though, can they? I'm sure she isn't dangerous..."

Hagrid nodded in agreement. "I think the wizard or witch that created her probably decided to get rid of her when she wasn't aggressive enough. If Fen was a pure Ichneumon, we would have found a lot more dead snakes around the school, and she would've jumped at Nagini the moment she caught her scent in Tom's office. I think she only killed the Basilisk because she knew it was a threat to her owner and his friends."

"So why would they want to… get rid of her?" Sue asked.

"They'll hear the words 'experimental cross-breeding' and 'Ichneumon', and probably decide to call in the executioners..." Hagrid shook his head in disgust.

Remus shuddered and knocked over his mug of tea. "Sorry, I'm feeling a bit tired. I think I'm going to get some rest..."

Remus vanished the spilled tea, then said goodbye, leaving them before they could say anything. Harry listened to the creaking of the stairs and turned to Hagrid, "Is he okay?"

Hagrid spoke slowly and carefully, "He's as well as he can be, considering where he spent the last month. Just… give him some time..."

* * *

"POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH! 150 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE MATCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP!" Lee Jordan roared with delight and the crowd screamed as Harry raised his arm to show the Snitch struggling against his fingers.

"Congratulations, Harry." Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff Seeker Harry had spent the last thirty seconds trying to out-fly, offered his hand.

"Thanks." Harry knew he shouldn't look too smug, but couldn't stop himself from grinning broadly while he shook Cedric's hand. Then he turned towards the rest of the Gryffindor team who were all flying towards him, whooping, cheering and, in Oliver's case, sobbing incoherently.

Tangled together as they were, in a many armed hug, it was almost surprising that they managed to get back onto the ground without anyone falling off their brooms. Professor Riddle was on the pitch, slowly making his way towards them carrying a glimmering trophy in his arms, with an army clad in red marching behind him, chanting in triumph.

"Wi- r. Oli- ood, pl- e -ome for-." the Headmaster tried to shout over the Gryffindor supporters, but gave up in the end and simply gestured the winning team forwards. The Headmaster gave them a wide smile and shook their hands, before handing over the Quidditch Cup to Oliver Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.

Oliver started crying even harder and raised the Cup above his head and the next moment the whole team was surrounded and lifted up by the crowd. Harry saw Hagrid and Remus, beaming at him while applauding loudly, Sue and Ernie were standing next to them, Ernie wearing the yellow and black scarf of his own house, but they were cheering for him all the same. Hermione and Ginny were standing near the edge of the crowd, emotional but managing to resist throwing themselves into the chaotic mob like Ron had done, whom Harry could hear somewhere beneath him but couldn't see.

They eventually reached the common room, where the whole house had gathered to celebrate the victory. Fred and George had managed to sneak into the kitchens and brought back a large amount of food and drinks and the whole house raised a toast to the team and Oliver in particular. He was currently draped in a large Gryffindor banner and was sitting in the centre of the room, with a bottle of butterbeer in one hand and the trophy in the other.

His return to school had been met with excitement and admiration, as he had managed to fight off and escape one of the most dangerous werewolves in Britain. There were certainly more than a few people who looked at him with interest, seeing more than a Quidditch crazed seventh year.

He was allowed to start playing as soon as he was back, although Madam Pomfrey was there for the first few sessions, watching him like a hawk. The temporary Keeper was more than happy to quit the team after his terrible game against the Slytherins and it was almost as if Oliver never left. There was, however, a slightly awkward moment when Oliver walked up to Harry after their first practice session, completely straight faced, and thanked him for what he did the night of the attack. Harry tried to shrug it off saying it was Madam Pomfrey and the Headmaster that had helped, but Oliver's voice trembled with emotion as he clasped Harry's hand with both of his own giving it several firm shakes, promising help in the future if he ever needed any.

Talking of gratitude, there was also Colin, who unfortunately returned to his habit of shadowing Harry during his free time. He had also been spreading the story of what had happened in the forest, with a lot of embellishments and exaggerations, making Harry out to be somewhere between a demi-god and Merlin reincarnated, making quite a few first and second years take up Colin's hobby of 'Harry Hunting'.

He gave up trying to convince them to leave him alone, but Harry was able to avoid them most of the time by insisting that he had to revise for the upcoming exams, which was true. Hermione had stopped them from practising spells for the Triwizard Tournament and gave them each a revision timetable, much to Ron's chagrin.

Harry did quite well in his exams, in fact everyone who had joined them regularly for their after class meetings during that year had seen an improvement in grades, especially in Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Both Flitwick and Dumbledore were impressed when Harry showed them a few spells that he hadn't been taught during their classes, awarding him a few extra marks.

The results for his Divination exams were predictable, meaning they hadn't gone well at all. He did remarkably better for the exam Hagrid set, where they were each provided a salamander in the morning and had to return it to Hagrid, alive, after five hours.

Even though he didn't do quite so well in Potions or History of Magic, he was satisfied with his grades and with the exams finally over, Remus and Oliver back and no overhanging threats to worry them, Harry finally felt like he could relax.

* * *

Harry knocked on the door and opened it when the Headmaster answered. Professor Riddle was pacing his office stroking Nagini, who was draped around his shoulders. He gave Harry a brief nod and told him to take a seat, while he remained standing with a look of deep thought. Harry had only spoken to the Headmaster briefly since the night Ginny and Colin were taken, with no time for a proper conversation, even though he had more than enough questions he wanted to ask. Harry sat down and noticed two objects on his desk, one was his Nullificare Charm and the other a photograph.

He hesitated a moment before clearing his throat, "Erm… Professor Riddle, can I ask you something?"

Riddle stopped pacing and turned to the boy, nodding slightly, "Of course you can Harry. We should have talked earlier, but I'm afraid I couldn't find the time..."

"I know you've been busy. It's about the person you called 'Gaunt'..." Harry trailed off as he saw the Professor's face stiffen.

Tom Riddle sighed and gently let his familiar onto the floor, she hissed some quiet words of encouragement to the Professor before slithering away. He took a seat behind his desk and faced Harry, "Gaunt was… my mother's maiden name."

"Oh." Harry wasn't sure what to say. All the questions he wanted to ask were thrown out the window at this simple sentence.

Professor Riddle gave a humourless chuckle as he picked up the photograph that was on his desk. Harry couldn't see it but he knew what was on it, he was there when Remus was developing the film. Colin's frantic attempts to take a picture of the invisible foe had been, for the most part, unsuccessful and there were many pictures of trees, empty air and a very blurry image of Sirius and Greyback. There was only one image of any interest, which Remus had made a duplicate of and immediately took to the Headmaster. Riddle stared at the photo before dropping it onto the desk again and muttered, "The Ancient House of Gaunt..."

"Do you know who it is?" Harry stared at the photo, it was mostly empty and you had to stare closely to find what was so important. On the very edge of the photograph, was was a small bottle hanging on the end of a thin metal chain, which looked very similar to the bottle that was currently on the Headmaster's desk.

"Harry, I told you once that I did not know I was a wizard until I received my letter. The few things my mother told me that day did not prepare me for my first year at Hogwarts." Riddle closed his eyes and said softly.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Riddle is a Muggle name and so I was just another typical student… until I discovered I could speak to snakes." Riddle opened his eyes. "The other houses began to look at me with distrust and students from my own house, especially those attracted by power, began to flock around me."

"They didn't trust a Parselmouth..." Harry bit his lips.

"No, and those that did were not the sort of people I wanted to associate with." the Headmaster sighed. "When I returned for Christmas that year, I begged my mother to tell me everything. I was confused and hated the fact that everyone else seemed to know more about me than I knew myself."

Harry let out a small laugh, "I know how you feel..."

Riddle chuckled, "I dare say you do. Well, she did tell me a few things, about her family, the Gaunts, and about the day my mother and my father met. It wasn't a happy meeting, as I had imagined, it was a day mired in tragedy. Grindelwald and his followers attacked the village where they lived, killing several people. My grandparents on my father's side were killed and my father was left for dead. He would have died, had my mother not arrived in time to save him with her magic."

"I… I'm sorry." Harry said, shocked.

Riddle nodded and continued, "My mother saw the King of Crows himself that day. He came to her house and… she thought she was the only member of her family to leave the house alive. Morfin was her brother and Marvolo her father, and she was sure she saw them die that day. She thought she was the last of the blood of Salazar Slytherin…"

Harry looked at the man who was once again deep in thought, "So… you think one of them survived? And… decided to work with Grindelwald?"

"If Marvolo Gaunt was still alive, he would be well over a hundred years old now, but wizards can live longer than Muggles can, so it's not impossible… Morfin seems more likely… but..." Riddle glanced at the picture again but picked up Harry's charm. The Headmaster had retrieved it from Pettigrew and held onto it since that night. "I heard Rubeus told you about the time the Chamber of Secrets was opened during our school years."

"...Yes he did." Harry replied slowly, wondering if telling that story to them had landed Hagrid in trouble.

"It is possible that one of them could have known about the secret passage, or heard it from someone, and sneaked into the castle to open the Chamber..." Riddle said uncertainly.

"But you don't think that's the case." Harry said.

"No, I don't. There is also the possibility that Gaunt was at Hogwarts during that time, either as a member of staff or as a student. I wonder if there were any Metamorphmagi in the Gaunt bloodline..." Riddle wondered quietly. "A serpent within Hogwarts, working for the Crow..."

Harry jumped to his feet, startling the Headmaster, "I… there was..."

"Harry, what is it?" Professor Riddle looked at him with concern, as the boy had his hands on his head, desperately trying to remember. "Are you in pain?"

"No… during my last Hogsmeade trip I visited Trelawney..." Harry muttered.

The Headmaster raised an eyebrow, "Really? Whatever she told you I don't think it's worth-"

"I went to see if she could help Remus somehow and you're right, she was worse than useless..." Harry snorted, before his expression turned serious again, "But then she went all… stiff and weird, and she said something about the serpent helping the crow..."

Riddle's sceptical expression instantly vanished. "Do you remember exactly what she said?"

"The serpent in the crow's nest, ready for something?" Harry let out a noise of frustration. "I can't remember!"

"Harry, drink this, it's a mild Memory Potion." Riddle opened a drawer and took out a small vial of blue liquid which Harry accepted and emptied it into his mouth, tasting liquid treebark on his tongue. "Now, concentrate on that day, on that moment. Imagine yourself walking into the tent and tell me what you hear..."

"Music… more of a noise really, and I smell a cloying perfume, both really unpleasant..." Harry scrunched his nose. "I sat down and asked her about Remus and she gave me a useless answer, so I turned to leave..."

Harry was silent for almost half a minute. Riddle asked softly, "What happened next?"

Harry closed his eyes and said monotonously, "The Serpent roosts in the Crow's nest, ready to shed blood and skin for the Dark Lord's rebirth. A century he has waited, a century he has planned, now the em-"

"Em? Em what?" Riddle urged.

"That's when I stopped listening and left the tent..." Harry looked slightly embarrassed. "I thought it was just another act to try and get me to listen to her ramblings..."

Professor Riddle let out a sigh, when a portrait on the wall said clearly, "She's just entered the castle, Headmaster."

"Thank you Everard." Riddle said absently. "Perhaps I'll go pay Trelawney a visit later..."

The Headmaster was lost in thought and Harry decided not to disturb him. They both stood up, Riddle calmly and Harry stiffly, when they heard a knock on the door. "Enter."

The door opened and Kendra Dumbledore strode inside, her eyes darting all around the room. She gave a brief nod to one of the portraits before turning to the Headmaster and Harry. "Professor Riddle. Mr. Potter."

"Thank you Miss Dumbledore, for coming here." Riddle said with a smile. Harry just gave her a brief nod and watched her warily. As the end of his third year loomed closer, he still wasn't sure whether he wanted to contact Kendra Dumbledore or not, but Professor Riddle had decided on his behalf. He was apparently worried about the fact that it had been used against Pettigrew and didn't want Harry to put it on again until he could have it checked out. Harry was angry at first, but then somewhat relieved that the decision had been taken out of his hands. Harry would have to trust the Headmaster and his judgement that contacting Kendra Dumbledore would not harm him. "Before we begin, I would like to ask a small favour..."

"What is it?" Kendra asked curiously.

"A simple promise, that what is discussed in this room will not make it's way to another's ears." Riddle's eyes briefly met Harry's.

"I am an Unspeakable, I do not discuss my work with others, but..." Kendra looked at Harry and let out a small sigh. Then she pulled out her wand. "I suppose you have reason to mistrust my name. Very well, I swear not to discuss what is said in this room with anyone, including Albus Dumbledore. Will that suffice?"

A string of light emerged from the tip of her wand floated towards her head, winding itself around her throat. The Headmaster's eyes widened in surprise, "Thank you, Miss Dumbledore."

She shook her head and walked over to the desk, carefully picking up the Nullificare Charm in her hands. Harry still felt uneasy. He realised the bit of magic that just happened would probably prevent Albus Dumbledore from finding out anything, but it was still his daughter. Like Gideon had done on New Years Day, she began muttering under her breath while she poked and prodded the bottle with her wand. She clicked her tongue. "This really is terrible… Mr. Potter, how long have you worn this?"

"Erm… about a month during the summer and then during the Christmas holidays." he replied quietly.

Kendra Dumbledore stared at Harry with a strange expression. "I feel I should apologise to you, Mr. Potter, on behalf of my father. I've read your file before coming here and I believe you never should have been given this in the first place."

Harry's mouth dropped open at this open admission. "Then why?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? He wants you, Mr. Potter." she muttered, then she gave the bottle several sharp taps, producing multicoloured sparks.

"He.. wa..wants me?" Harry sputtered.

The Unspeakable looked up and glanced at Professor Riddle, "I would have thought the Headmaster would have explained it to you..."

Harry turned to Riddle as Kendra began muttering intently, staring down the charm. The Headmaster let out a sigh, "He wants you Harry, because you were the only known person to have survived the Killing Curse. He wants you because of the power you have."

"Power? But I was just a baby! And I don't have any power! There are others that are much better at magic then I am, Hermione Granger for one..." Harry said incredulously.

"Not… power in the sense of magical ability, but..." Riddle said hesitantly. "People treat you as a hero, yes, I realise you don't like it, but they do and that means people will be swayed by your actions and what you say."

Harry looked at him sceptically, if that was true, he was sure he never would have been given the Nullificare Charm in the first place. But then again, he remembered the strangers that walked up to him the first moment he set foot inside Diagon Alley, all wanting to welcome him back to the wizarding world with a handshake, thanking him for something he had no clue about until the day before. Kendra Dumbledore caught his expression and said, "Whatever you're treated like here, it'll be nothing compared to how they look at you over in the Continent. The war touched far more lives there and up until the moment his death was declared, many people thought he had already won."

Riddle nodded, "The whole world was watching by that point, it would have spread beyond Europe eventually. His death saved far more lives than you can imagine."

Harry squirmed uncomfortably as the wizard and the witch looked at him. He knew there had been a war and that many people had died, his parents among them, but sheltered as he was living with Muggles and with children his own age at Hogwarts, he couldn't really comprehend the true horrors they were talking about. "So… he wants me to leave my aunt and uncle, like he asked me to when I first met him? So he can use me as some sort of political tool?"

"He worked hard to create a united Europe, but even now there are petty fights and squabbles between the Ministries of dozens of countries. He is one of the founders of the European Ministry, but even he can't go around putting out fires for a whole continent." Kendra said. "There are more and more people arguing for the organisation to be disbanded, saying it's more trouble than it's worth."

She turned back to her work as Riddle spoke, "With you by his side, he could easily convince a lot of people to his way of thinking."

"And what exactly is he thinking?" Harry asked.

"Oh you know, the usual... togetherness, unity, economical and defensive security..." Kendra mumbled, only paying half attention.

"That… doesn't sound so bad." Harry looked at the Headmaster uncertainly.

"It's not about whether it's good or bad, it's the fact that you are only thirteen. You can throw yourself into politics when you graduate from Hogwarts, but for now your safety and happiness is my only concern. I don't think working for Albus will give you either of those..." Professor Riddle said quietly.

Harry nodded wordlessly and stared at the bottle as it hummed and sparked every time the Unspeakable muttered another spell.

"I do wish he would just… retire and give up all his politicking. I love him, but..." Kendra murmured and she gave the silver bottle a final tap of her wand. There was a harsh ringing noise as it glowed golden for a moment, before returning to normal. "Now, it should be better than it was before. However, I feel I should say, the longer you are wearing it, the worse you will feel. I don't envy your second month with this on."

She handed the charm over to Harry and told him to put it on. He did so with great reluctance and shivered as he felt the all too familiar coldness in his chest. Kendra raised a questioning eyebrow at him, "Erm… it doesn't feel too bad yet. But last time, it took a while for it to get..."

Kendra raised her wand at the charm, "Alright, let me try something..."

Harry nodded briefly before realising this felt familiar, then he suddenly remembered what Gideon did at the Burrow. "Wait! I'm-"

He felt a sudden chill and the faintest hint of nausea, but that was it. He didn't pass out and he wasn't shaking. Kendra was looking at him expectantly, "Well?"

"It's… fine, it's great actually." Harry said, almost laughing in relief.

Kendra let out a snort, "Mr. Potter, I'm surprised you didn't contact us within a week of putting that thing on last summer."

"I... erm… didn't realise it wasn't meant to be that bad." Harry blushed.

"You should have told someone Harry." Riddle frowned in concern. Then he muttered so quietly Harry could barely hear. "And _someone_ should have told me."

"No! It was only bad when I was still at Privet Drive." Harry thought the 'someone' Professor Riddle was referring to was probably Sirius. "Once I left, and when I was at the Burrow, everything was fine. Honestly."

The Headmaster stared at him. "Very well. But Harry, know that if you need anything at all, there are people who care for you. People who you can rely on."

"Yes sir. Thank you Professor." Harry nodded gratefully.

"Well then, that's my job done. It was nice seeing you again Mr. Potter." Kendra Dumbledore smiled at him.

"I'm sorry, but there is one more thing I wanted to ask." Riddle said quickly. "Harry, unless there's something else, you should return to your dormitory."

Harry noticed that the Headmaster had his hand on top of the photograph on the desk, which was currently facing down. Harry was curious about what the Unspeakable might be able to tell them about the Charm in the photo, but he knew he was being dismissed. "Yes Professor, I still have some packing to do..."

"I hope you have a better summer this year Harry." Professor Riddle said kindly.

Harry stood by the door for a moment and nodded, "Thank you, I think I will."

 **End of Year 3**

* * *

Tom had not decided if he could trust the witch in his office until that moment. The oath she had taken was more than he had expected, proving she was serious about not revealing anything to Albus Dumbledore, but there was more than that. Her words and expression suggested that she was her own person, not her father's, and even though she was a dutiful child, she was also a professional. There were not many people who could fool Tom Riddle, he had his ancestor to thank for that.

His feelings about being a descendant of Salazar Slytherin aside, he had no qualms about using his skills at Legilimency, especially when it came to the well-fare of his students. When he looked into Kendra Dumbledore's eyes, it was like reading a book, not that the mind is anything like a book, of course. More specifically, it was like reading a manual on complex charms surrounding intricate magical objects. The few whole sentences he managed to gleam from her mind were instructions on how to diagnose a problem with the Nullificare Charm and what steps to take to repair it. Her apology to Harry seemed genuine, as was her word that she would not reveal anything to her father.

"...Headmaster why did you ask for me to stay behind?" Kendra said slightly impatiently and Tom realised he'd been silent for almost a whole minute.

"Forgive me. This is a delicate matter and I'm unsure of how to start." Tom offered her the seat Harry had been using. She raised her eyebrow at him but took a seat and waited. "Miss Dumbledore, I appreciate the oath you have sworn, and I hope it will apply to what we are about to discuss now."

Kendra was silent for a moment. "I suppose it does, but I'm not sure if I feel comfortable… is this about the Nullificare Charm?"

"It is related to your work." Tom said, evasively.

Kendra narrowed her eyes. "I will not speak of Harry's Charm to anyone and neither will I speak of anyone else's to you."

"What if I were to say… that it concerns Grindelwald." Tom concentrated, staring into her eyes. Surprise. Annoyance.

"Grindelwald?" she let out a scoff. "I've heard that you claim the werewolf that was killed was a follower of his?"

"Yes." Riddle said simply.

Kendra sighed in exasperation. "A follower he may have been, but I'm afraid I hold the same belief as my father does, Grindelwald is dead. His name will not allow you access to information that does not concern you."

Truth. Riddle closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "But you will admit that there are remanents of his followers that are still active? And that they pose a danger to others, including the students here if they decide to target Hogwarts?"

"Mr. Potter first and foremost, I suppose..." Kendra mused, then she sighed and shook her head. "Professor Riddle, ask your question. I cannot promise I will answer, but I will not reveal what you asked to anyone else."

Tom looked into her eyes for a moment, before wordlessly sliding the photo over to her. She picked it up and turned it over and a confused frown formed on her face. "Look at the left hand side, at the very edge."

Kendra's hand gripping the photo tightened, "Th..this is..."

"One of yours?" Tom asked quietly.

"We.. we weren't told about this." Kendra said, looking annoyed. "Do you have any more?"

"No, this is the only clue we managed to capture. I kept this piece of information from the Aurors, in case there is someone from the Ministry working for… working with Grindelwald's followers." Tom never broke eye contact. "I need someone who can investigate this quietly, without arousing any suspicion."

Kendra rubbed her eyelids, "I don't know if I feel comfortable doing that."

"You heard of the Basilisk that was within the grounds?" Kendra nodded. "It could have killed countless people, it was only luck that no one was hurt that day. This could help identify the attacker, before another such attempt is made."

Kendra was quiet for a moment, "Alright. I'll come to you with the information first, but you… we have to go to the Aurors afterwards."

"I'll agree to that." Tom smiled, feeling relieved. "Can you account for all the Charms in your department."

"Not off hand, but there are records of course." Kendra said, staring into the picture again. "It doesn't help that the colour is… why is the whole photo grey?"

"The intruder was invisible, by use of an invisibility cloak." Tom explained. "Mr. Potter's camera has the ability to capture such beings."

"That is very useful..." she muttered. "Well, since we can't see what colour it is, I'll have to go through all the Nullificare, Affirmare and the other one as well…"

"How long will it take?" Tom asked.

"Long. There are hundreds of these. I suppose we can ignore the ones in Azkaban… Also, we don't have any records on the ones we loan to foreign governments. We can request the information from them, but that will leave a trail." Kendra gave him a questioning look. "I suppose you wouldn't want that?"

"We'll have to think about the ones overseas later, but for now start with these names." Tom pulled out a parchment from his desk and handed it over. "It's a list of the people that were at Hogwarts at the time the Chamber of Secrets was opened. See if any of those people, or anyone associated with them, were given a Charm."

Kendra gave the list a quick glance before folding it into her pocket. She stood up, hesitating for a moment. "Headmaster, what is your opinion on the nature of prophecies?"

"Prophecies?" Tom frowned at the sudden change in topic. "Why do you ask?"

"Did you know, for example, that the Department of Mysteries has a room where a record of prophecies are kept?" Kendra said vaguely, ignoring Tom's question.

"I.. I have heard rumours." Tom's frown deepened. "What does this ha-"

"Unspeakables help make a record of each prophecy and are quickly Obliviated afterwards, so that only the one whom the prophecy refer to, can view it and remember. That is, unless there is a question about whom the prophecy concerns, in which case certain Unspeakables are granted access, so they may attempt to work out who it refers to." Tom just nodded and gestured at the witch to continue. "There is such a prophecy that certain people have been attempting to decipher, concerning..."

"Concerning?" Tom asked uneasily.

"Concerning one who will bring about darkness, burning the land and skies, leaving death in his wake." Kendra said expressionlessly. "A certain… loophole allows me to tell you this, because it is the general consensus amongst my colleagues that the prophecy concerns a certain... Tom Riddle."

Tom's mouth dropped open and he stared at her, before he burst out laughing. "They think I'll become.. what, the next Grindelwald or something?"

"A horrifying thought." Kendra gave him an amused look. "You certainly divide opinion amongst our people."

"If I had any misgivings about prophecies, this certainly won't change my mind about them..." Tom chuckled, shaking his head in exasperation. "Why are you telling me this?"

Kendra's face hardened. "Because I do not believe the prophecy concerns you."

"Then who?" Tom raised an eyebrow.

"I cannot say. I am not allowed to say." Kendra said and looked intently into the Headmaster's eyes. "Look out for him, look after him."

"Who?" Tom frowned and concentrated on her thoughts.

"I will not ask for an oath, but I hope you will keep this to yourself. As I've said, it's merely on a technicality that I am informing you of this and I will likely be reprimanded if anyone found out. Farewell, Headmaster Riddle." with that she turned around and left him alone in his office.

Tom slumped back on his chair, his thoughts reeling, his brow creased in worry. The name on the witch's mind echoing inside his head.

" _Harry Potter_."

* * *

 **A/N**

Sorry, I'm a day late. I was quite busy over the weekend, and when I was reading through the chapter a final time before posting, there were quite of few bits I wanted to change. But it was really late and I was tired, so I decided to put it off until today.

I've finished editing years 1 and 2, mostly spelling and grammar corrections, and the renaming of some terms. Magic Nullification/Affirmation Charms seemed like a mouthful, so I've changed it to Nullificare and Affirmare Charms. I've also changed the diamond skinned guardian snake to diamond skinned weardwyrm, weard is the Old English word for ward. I also changed some chapter titles.

Of the more significant changes, first of all, the fact that the previous Triwizard Tournament from Bill's time at school was held at Hogwarts (as I've mentioned I would do a few chapters ago). Also I realised that I'd written during his second year that Harry's aunt and uncle locked his things in the cupboard, I've changed that so he has his stuff in his room during that time.

The biggest change is about the Nullificare and Affirmare Charms. The edit is in Y2C3, when Gideon is explaining his work with said objects, have a read if you're interested. The gist of it is, those two are connected with emotional control, like you can see with Harry's one from his summer, and that the ones for squibs are slightly different. I've given those a different colour to reflect this change as well. I haven't given a name to those yet, I'll probably do so later.

As I've mentioned a few chapters ago, I'm going to be taking another break, so I can write a few chapters before I start posting again. I haven't written anything yet for the fourth year, but I have a general idea of how I want to story to progress. I also want to write a few chapters for my PC Extra stories. I'm posting another story for that alongside this chapter, this time about Tom, so have a look if you're interested. I don't know exactly when I'll start updating again, but I'll keep my profile up to date with my progress at least once a week.

Thank you for reading so far and thank you for all the reviews, it really makes my day when I get a nice one. =)


	24. Year 4 - Chapter 1

**Year 4**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Summer Haze**

 _Harry!_

 _I hope you're doing well, it's incredibly annoying that your relatives wouldn't let you come watch the World Cup Finals! It- (_ crossed out scrawl), _Hermione is telling me I shouldn't write about it, but I bet you want to know what the match was like? It was- (_ more words crossed out). _Did you get your books yet? Mum's picking up our stuff for us, she said she would drop by your place to see if you wanted to go together?_

 _She hasn't said anything out loud, but we can tell she's not happy with your aunt and uncle, her eyes go all narrow whenever someone mentions you or them. She's also worried, we all are, about you. You haven't written in the last week, I hope the (_ several words scribbled out, all starting with Nu) _Nullificare Charm isn't giving you too much trouble? Have you written to Sirius or Remus at all? Hermione heard from Remus saying the mirror they gave you broke? If you're still alive and reading this, you might want to contact them. I think Sirius might charge into your house and take you away with him, although… that might not be such a bad thing!_

 _If Hermione's right and you don't want to know about the Quidditch match, then ignore the rest of the letter and we'll see you in a few days! If not, here goes..._

 _._

 _._

 _IT WAS AMAZING! BLOODY BRILLIANT! They'll be talking about this match for years! Alright, here's what happened, it started with the three Irish Chasers, Mullet, Troy and Moran, they… … Ten zero to Ireland! Then it was… … Ivanova, Harry you should have seen her!… … the veela! Harry, I haven't mentioned the veela! They're… … Wronski Feint! You should try it on Malfoy sometimes, Lynch looked a right mess after… … referee! It was hilarious! It almost turned quite… … Krum caught the Snitch! Bulgaria lost but… … They came right up to where we were watching from, I got to see Krum up close, it was amazing! He was honestly the best player there, look Harry! HARRY! Watch him fly!_

Harry James Potter tore his eyes from the letter he was reading and looked up towards the ceiling, where a figure on a broomstick was flying circles around his room. He looked back down to the letter from Ron, but it had disappeared, so he tried to concentrate on the Seeker. Harry had no idea what Viktor Krum looked like and his friend's description of the man hadn't really helped. Looking closer, he found that the person flying in his room looked a bit like Harry himself, but also the Seekers from the other house teams at Hogwarts. Harry blinked, and the Seeker grew long black hair, blinked again and it was much shorter and a lighter colour. Every time he blinked his (and definitely _her_ at one point) features changed and shifted while continually flying around the room, which Harry noticed had grown considerably larger at some point.

It wasn't until the Seeker accidentally bumped into Hedwig's cage, causing the owl to stir slightly, and Harry let out a quiet grunt that 'Krum' noticed the boy lying on the bed, staring up at him. The Seeker turned his broom around and flew towards Harry at breakneck speed, but the boy just stared back passively. The Seeker flew ever faster, his hand extended forwards as if trying to grab Harry's head instead of the Golden Snitch.

About a foot away from the bed, the figure came to an abrupt stop, twisting and shrinking before Harry's eyes. Black plumage blossomed out of nowhere and a bird settled on the end of Harry's bed. Harry stared at the crow and the creature just stared back, head cocked to one side. Harry lazily kicked out with his foot, trying to brush the bird off of his bed, but the crow just hopped to the side, before settling down and staring at him once more.

Harry sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes before shifting onto his arms, trying to get up. He managed to sit up and lean against the headboard, but when he turned back to face the crow, it was gone. Instead there was an old man sitting on his bed, staring at him with cold blue eyes.

"Albus Dumbledore..." Harry said, his voice strangely emotionless.

The wizard just nodded, before standing up while reaching inside his pocket. He pulled out a little bottle, hanging on the end of a chain. Harry stared down his own chest and found his own Nullificare Charm still there. When he looked back up, the wizard had already taken several steps forwards and was looming over him, the hands holding the bottle reaching out towards the boy. He placed it around Harry's head, causing him to shiver as he felt a chill in his chest. Dumbledore then took out another bottle, then another, placing them one by one around Harry's neck. The boy's weak attempts to stop the elder wizard was brushed off easily and Harry could only sit there and endure the cold and heavy feeling that was building up inside him.

It was something that should have terrified him, but it didn't. But he did start feeling a slightly uncomfortable pain on his face. He put his hand to his face, then moved it so he could stare at his own fingertips. Blood.

"I need to wake up." Harry said out loud to no one in particular.

He ignored the wizard, who was still hanging an ever increasing number of little bottles around his neck and closed his eyes, concentrating on the pain on his face. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a flurry of feathers, but this time it wasn't black, but a brilliant white.

"Hedwig, I'm awake now. Stop." Harry said calmly, gently gripping the snowy owl that was pecking at his face. Hedwig hooted in reply and flew away, back to her cage, looking at him with what was unmistakably worry in her eyes. Harry turned his head and let in a sharp breath of surprise.

Albus Dumbledore was still there, his head cocked to one side, staring at him. Harry's breathing was steady when he opened his mouth again, "I'm not dreaming, you shouldn't be here."

With that he waved his hand through the spot where Albus Dumbledore was standing. His arm when right through the old wizard who, like a wisp of smoke, dissipated into thin air.

* * *

Harry was sitting on his bed, staring at the sandwich and a glass of water that was on the floor by the door to his room. A tiny black speck was hopping on the surface of the bread, buzzing into flight before landing back onto the meal it had claimed for itself. Aunt Petunia had brought the food for Harry, but he couldn't believe that it wasn't because she was concerned for him.

The summer had started off fairly well, considering he was still living with the Dursleys. Kendra Dumbledore's tinkering with the Nullificare Charm had done a lot of good, he no longer felt the horribly painful side effects that he experienced when he first received it. She had warned him that the longer he had it on, the worse it would be, while not specifying exactly how. But Harry had endured it for almost a month last summer and he couldn't imagine it being worse than that, especially considering it was supposed to be fixed.

Apart for the chores and occasional walks outside, he kept to his room, writing letters to his friends or contacting Sirius and Remus through the mirror that had once belonged to his father. Knowing he had friends out there, friends that he would see in a few months' time, helped him get through each monotonous day. Hermione was worried about the fact that he couldn't get any of his homework done, with his belongings locked in the cupboard, and had spent a lot of time copying out and sending him several pages of her textbook, allowing him to actually complete some assignments.

Thankful as he was with Hermione's dedication to getting Harry's homework done, he preferred the other letters he was sent. They were perfectly ordinary, asking Harry how he was as well as telling him how they were spending the holidays. While it was fun reading what his friends were getting up to, he couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy. But he ignored that feeling and wrote back enthusiastically, by now Harry had given up ever hoping for a good summer until he left Privet Drive.

As several of his friends were huge Quidditch fans, the Quidditch World Cup had been a topic that was discussed often through the letters, especially with Ron. They had exchanged several rolls of parchment, the contents of which would have given them both full marks if there had been an official exam on Quidditch.

Sirius and Remus tried to call him through the mirror at least once a day and Harry was happy to hear from them. Harry had asked the Auror if 'Major Chilmead' would be home at any point during the summer, but Sirius apologised with a grimace, saying he was doing something for Professor Riddle. Remus also seemed busy, since whenever Harry saw the man through the mirror, he looked tired and from what Harry could make out from the background, he always seemed to be calling from a different location.

Despite all this, nearing the end of his first month back at Privet Drive, Harry started feeling a little strange. It wasn't a physical thing, like the blurry visions or shaking hands from last year, but an emotional one. He started feeling distant and numb, a strange sensation that would have terrified him, if fear wasn't slowly being swallowed up by the bottle as well. The letters to his friends became less frequent and more mechanical, as he wrote out of habit rather than a desire to hear from them.

His friends, however, noticed the change in his writing and expressed their concern, but Harry insisted that it was just how it was every summer. Although they didn't fully believe him, there was little they could do. Sirius and Remus might have taken some action, had they been able to see Harry through the mirror, but he had broken it.

Usually he made sure to keep it hidden away, not wanting his relatives to find it as they were sure to lock it away with the rest of his things if they did, but he had grown careless as the weeks passed. It was unfortunate timing as Uncle Vernon crashed into his room and began shouting at him for not doing his chores for three days in a row, when the mirror started calling his name. His uncle went purple as Harry nonchalantly picked it up, so the man tried to grab it from his nephew's hand. In the ensuing struggle, the mirror dropped to the floor and smashed into a dozen pieces.

His uncle, breathing heavily, told him that he wouldn't be fed if he didn't work and left Harry staring at the shards of glass. He tried calling Remus straight away and thankfully it wasn't completely broken. They could still exchange words, even though the sound was crackly and muffled and although he could still make out bits of the werewolf's face showing on the shards, it flickered in and out of view, making Harry feel dizzy looking at it. Remus accepted Harry's story of dropping it by accident and promised him that he would fix it as soon as they were back at Hogwarts.

This was also when the nightmares started again. He had always been plagued by nightmares when he was younger, but they had become less frequent around the time he had received the letter from Hogwarts and found out about the wizarding world. While at school, he did have the occasional restless dream due to stress or anxiety and once in his first year when he caught a cold during his Christmas holidays, but usually didn't give them much of a second thought and forgot about them soon afterwards. It was surprising in a way, considering all that he and his friends went through during their three years at the school.

The things that visited him in his sleep the past few weeks were varied, crows were common, as was Albus Dumbledore, the conversation in the Headmaster's Office at the end of last term had been weighing heavily on his mind. Sometimes he was back in the nightmares of his youth, the sound of someone's raspy voice, before a bright flash of green light. Harry wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing, but he didn't feel scared of these visions. They were the kind of dreams he would have normally woken from, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat, but he would only feel an unconscious shiver and stumble through passively as the nightmare progressed until morning.

He wondered if there was something magical about these dreams, they were clearer than anything he had experienced before and sometimes seemed to bleed into reality, delusive figures haunting him for a few seconds until he shook his head completely awake. He briefly considered telling someone, Sirius, Remus or even the Headmaster, but he immediately decided not to. Despite the nightmares, he was getting enough sleep thanks to the Nullificare Charm, so it wasn't really harming him in any way. He also didn't want to appear weak, he always hated the fact that birds affected him in a way it didn't other people. As for Dumbledore, intimidating as he was in person, Harry didn't know what to think about the man. What the man wanted didn't seem to be a bad thing, even though the way he was going about trying to influence Harry was a bit extreme.

With all this happening, when Ron finally wrote to him, saying his dad had managed to get tickets to the Finals, Harry didn't bother to get his hopes up. His uncle barged into his room again, brandishing a letter that seemed to have far too many stamps stuck onto it. It was from Mrs. Weasley, asking Vernon Dursley permission for Harry to attend the once in a lifetime event. After a lot of shouting, his uncle ripped the letter into several tiny pieces and threw it into Harry's face. Harry wrote back to Ron, saying he wasn't allowed to go, to which his friend replied with lots of swear words directed at the Dursleys, a letter that would have landed him in trouble with his mother if she ever laid eyes on it.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley even turned up at Harry's house the next day. He didn't realise they had come until he heard his uncle shouting from downstairs, telling the kindly witch and wizard that Harry was being grounded and that he wouldn't be attending any 'Quibbitch' games. There was some more muffled arguing as Mrs. Weasley insisted on seeing Harry, which was once again adamantly refused. Harry could hear Mrs. Weasley calling his name, but he wasn't sure whether he wanted to see them or not. In the end he decided to stay in his room and if she ever asked about it he would tell her that he was asleep and didn't hear her.

In the corner of his mind, he knew that it was unfair and his uncle was just being vindictive, but he couldn't bring himself to care. And so he spent the rest of his holidays, lying in bed and staring blankly into space while the days melted into each other. His letters to his friends became less frequent until stopping altogether and he didn't even bother to read some of them and just left them in a pile on his desk. He refused to lift a finger for his uncle, but he didn't bother trying to sneak in some food during the night either. Eventually, it was his aunt that had come by with the sandwich, snapping at him to eat something, saying they wouldn't be responsible for him starving to death in their house. Once, a few days later he vaguely noticed someone at the door again, arguing with his uncle, but this time he didn't even wonder who it might be and ignored it completely.

The fly jumped off the sandwich and flew into the air, flying around the room, much like the Seeker in his dream had done. Harry followed it with his eyes for a while, until it started buzzing around his head. Harry gave his arm a lazy wave, before turning around and falling asleep.

* * *

"WAKE UP!" Harry opened his eyes and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position and stared blankly at his uncle who had slammed open the door to his bedroom. Vernon Dursley stared down at the plate of food, still uneaten from a few days ago and scrunched his nose at the smell that was noticeably coming off of it, and off Harry as well, he hadn't washed for a while. He gritted his teeth and said, with slightly less aggression, "Downstairs. Now."

With that he turned away and stalked out of the room. Harry wondered if he could just ignore him, but the tone in his uncle's voice made him wonder what Vernon Dursley wanted. He walked pass Dudley, who looked at him with a satisfied smirk, which was surprising since he hadn't looked happy since he was told he would have to go on a diet during the summer. Downstairs, he found his aunt and uncle in the dining room.

"...Sit down." Aunt Petunia looking as if she wanted nothing less than for Harry to sit on one of the dining room chairs. She then put down a plate of food in front of him, not just a stale piece of bread with a thin sliver of ham as he was used to, but eggs, bacon and buttered toast as well as a large glass of orange juice. "Hurry up and eat it."

Harry felt a faint surprise, which was the only reason he picked up a piece of toast and took a bite. His throat burned as the solid food passed into his stomach for the first time in days. He took a drink and started eating slowly, when his uncle cleared his throat.

"Right. After you finish that, get yourself cleaned up. We're leaving in an hour." Vernon Dursley grunted.

Harry chewed and swallowed a stringy piece of bacon, "Where are you going?"

His aunt and uncle shared a look, "Do you have any idea what day it is?"

Harry shrugged. "Nope."

"It's the first of September." his uncle snorted, then muttered to his wife. "...I knew their lot were mad, look what they've bloody done to him..."

Petunia sniffed in agreement (and immediately regretted it), while a faint panic began tickling the back of Harry's mind. He was supposed to be back at Hogwarts today. He hadn't even gone to get any of his books, he didn't even remember getting the letter with the list of the books he needed. The fork clattered on the table and he gaped at his uncle with a dumb expression. "You… you're joking, right? It can't be September already..."

His uncle didn't respond to his question, "Finish your food, then go upstairs and get yourself cleaned up."

Harry hesitated, not because he wanted more to eat, the little appetite he had vanished the second the date was mentioned, but because he was still clinging onto the hope that it was some kind of cruel practical joke his uncle was playing on him. When Harry pushed his plate away, his aunt cleared it and said, "I've left you some clothes in the bathroom, throw everything you're wearing into the bin."

They shooed him out, so he had no choice but to leave. As soon as he took a step out of the room, his aunt and uncle started muttering to each other in frantic whispers. "-can't blame us for his state! It's that… thingamajig they're making him wear, it's not our-"

Harry climbed the stairs, and locked himself in the shower, purposefully ignoring his reflection in the mirror. He scrubbed himself clean then put on the clothes his aunt had mentioned. It was actually brand new, with the tags still attached and, for once, they properly fit him, well not completely but they were much better than Dudley's hand me downs. Harry let out a hollow laugh as he realised the clothes and the food didn't mean his relatives had a change of heart and suddenly cared for their nephew, it just meant that they were worried what other people might think and about what kind of trouble they might get into if wizards and witches thought they might be mistreating Harry Potter.

Harry went into his room and stuffed all his letters into a plastic bag, briefly taking time to search for the one from Hogwarts. He let out a small sigh, there wouldn't be enough time to visit Diagon Alley if he wanted to get to King's Cross before the train left, even if his uncle agreed to take him there. After picking up Hedwig in her cage, he came back downstairs to find his uncle had already loaded his trunk onto the car and was waiting for him impatiently by the front door.

Harry climbed into the car and stayed silent for the journey, until Uncle Vernon spoke to him as they were nearing London, "Don't you dare go around telling them we did anything to you, it's that thing you're wearing, not us."

Harry didn't reply and just stared out the window at the passing scenery. It was quiet again until they slowed down at some red lights, Vernon looked around for a second before grabbing Harry by the shoulder and turning him around so they were face to face. "Are you listening to me? Don't you dare blame us for the state you're in… it's your own fault, if you hadn't blown up Marge..."

Vernon Dursely's face turned an angry red as he remembered the incident last year, his grip on his nephew's shoulder tightening. Harry remembered it as well, and for the briefest of moments, he felt a white hot, blinding rage at the words Marge spoke that day and at the woman herself. He felt fury at his uncle and aunt for allowing Marge to throw those insults, and finally he seethed at his cousin, who had topped off the day with a punch to Harry's nose, leaving it painfully broken for days.

Then it was gone again. Harry let out a small breath before answering, "Fine."

Uncle Vernon grunted and jerked his head back as the traffic started moving again. Harry wasn't sure who he blamed for the situation he was in. Perhaps Albus Dumbledore, for supposedly sticking him with the Nullificare Charm in the first place or maybe the Minister for Magic for allowing it to happen, when so many people had told him it wasn't right that he had to wear it. Kendra Dumbledore was also on his mind, since she hadn't prepare him for the effects of wearing it for a long period of time.

Maybe he did blame his relatives slightly, for their indifference at what he was going through, but he didn't know what they could have done differently, they were just acting like they always did. They could have cared, asking about how he was like Sirius, Remus or the Weasleys would have done, but the thought made him let out a small snort, it was utterly ridiculous.

They finally reached King's Cross and Vernon Dursley actually got out of the car to get Harry's things out of the trunk, probably because he realised it would get Harry out of his hair much quicker than leaving his lethargic nephew to do it by himself. He left the trunk by the side of the road and wordlessly got back into the car before driving off, leaving Harry staring at the vehicle until it was out of sight.

He dragged the trunk, with Hedwig under his arms until he found an empty trolley, muttering apologies to the Muggles he bumped into in the bustling station. He pushed himself through the barrier, ignoring everything around him in an almost careless manner. Once he was on the other side, he took a moment to wait for the feeling of joy to wash over him, the excitement of a whole year at Hogwarts away from the Dursleys, the excitement that he felt every year since he first passed through the barrier three years ago. He waited, but it never came.

With a sigh he pushed his trolley towards a large family gathered in the middle of the platform. It was always easy to find the Weasleys, even in a crowded place like this, you just had to find the large group of people with the flaming red hair. As he got closer, he saw that Hermione was also with them, leaning close to Ron and speaking quietly with a worried expression.

Hermione's gaze passed over Harry as she turned towards the barrier, before turning back to Ron. Then she did a double-take, frowning as she stared at Harry. Her mouth dropped open as she recognised one of her closest friends and she let out a quiet moan, "Oh, _Harry..._ "

"Hi Her-" Harry's greeting was cut off as she ran forwards and wrapped him in a tight hug. He returned the hug, closing his eyes and trying to grasp at the feeling tugging at the back of his mind, he was with friends now. When it started feeling like he'd been hugging her just a little too long, he opened his eyes and let her go and saw that everyone else was staring at him in shock, just like Hermione had done. But he didn't blush, or rather, he felt like he couldn't. "Hi, everyone."

"Oh, Harry dear-" Mrs. Weasley shook herself out of her shock and ran up to Harry, hugging him tighter than Hermione had done.

"Mate, you look terrible..." Ron said worriedly. His pet, Fenlutus the Ichneumon, was perched on his shoulders, dozing softly. There had been quite the scare at the start of the summer when she was taken to the Ministry by someone working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. For a week she was tested and scrutinised to the smallest detail. Ron had sent Harry a letter a day, fearing for the fate of his pet, but in the end they brought her back to the Burrow, but only after ensuring that she would not be creating little baby dragon killers.

"Mum, you're strangling him." Fred or George Weasley said.

The other twin gently pulled their mother off of Harry, who looked up at the kind witch and saw tears in her eyes. She sniffed and her eyes narrowed into an angry glare, "Those… relatives of yours, what have they done to you?"

Harry shrugged and gave them an unconvincing smile, "Just… being the Dursleys, I guess. I'm okay, Mrs. Weasley."

She shook her head sharply, "You certainly are _not_ okay. You look like you haven't eaten all summer! Oh, we should have tried harder to see you-"

The shrill whistle sounded and the few remaining students on the platform started making their way onto the train. "I'll get something to eat on the train, don't worry."

Molly Weasley looked torn, she knew they needed to hurry if they didn't want to miss the train, but she seemed reluctant to let him go. "Fred, George, help him with his things. Ron, make sure he eats something on the train, take care of him. Harry, I'll be writing a letter to the Headmaster the moment I get back to the Burrow, alright? I'll see you at Christmas then."

Her last words weren't a question, but a statement. She held Harry with her gaze until he nodded, agreeing to come over for Christmas, then hurried him onto the train. Ron and Hermione were waiting just inside, and they led him to a compartment the twins had already carried his luggage into. He sighed but let them hover over him, asking if he was comfortable and offering him some snacks they had in their pockets.

"Harry talk to us..." Hermione pleaded as Harry nibbled on a bit of home-made fudge, which might or might not have been left over from last Christmas, according to Ron.

"About what?" Harry stared at each of them in turn, all four Weasley siblings and Hermione were looking extremely worried. Harry wondered what they saw, he couldn't imagine it was that bad.

"Have they been starving you?" Ron asked in a low whisper, with a face that suggested he thought this was the worst crime imaginably.

"No. Yes. Well… not exactly." Harry's vague response didn't satisfy them. "I refused to do the chores they set me, so they said they wouldn't feed me unless I worked. I wasn't feeling that hungry so I just… didn't eat for a few days."

Hermione grabbed the bottle hanging around his neck and glared at it as if trying to extract an answer from it. "It's this thing isn't it? I thought it was supposed to be fixed?"

"It's not as bad as it was last year, it's just… different." Harry shrugged. "Do I look that bad?"

"Well... mum was exaggerating a bit, but you're really pale and you definitely look a bit thinner than you were last year." Ron said quietly.

"Kendra said that it could get worse the longer I wore it." Harry said. "I'll be fine once I get it off. Come on, let's talk about something else, how are you guys doing? How was the Quidditch?"

The others hesitantly started talking about their time at the Quidditch match. Once Ron started talking his worried expression slowly disappeared, and Harry encouraged him by asking a lot of questions and laughing out loud, even though it was slightly forced. Fred and George eventually went to find their friend Lee and Ginny left when Colin and a smaller boy came by the compartment, leading them away from Harry.

There was a brief moment of silence when it was just the three of them left in the compartment and Harry knew Hermione was about to broach the subject of the Charm again so he quickly cut her off by asking about some of the homework that he didn't complete in time. Ron gave a groan when Harry took out a parchment, quill and a book from his trunk, and began questioning Hermione about Goblin Rebellions. But after listening to Hermione for a few minutes, Ron took out his own homework and began to cross out and rewrite several sentences.

Ernie and Sue arrived a few minutes after, surprised to find their three friends hard at work before the first day of school. They flinched when Harry looked up, but he told them he was fine and quickly asked about their own summers. After catching up for a bit, Harry started writing again with the help from his friends.

"It's good you're working so hard on these." Sue pointed at the sheets of parchment. "I don't know if Professor McGonagall's the same, but I heard Professor Flitwick won't test you for the Triwizard Tournament if you get bad marks on your homework."

"What? I've never heard that!" Ron exclaimed. Harry had completely forgotten about the Triwizard Tournament. Ron turned to Hermione who was reading over her friends' work. "How's my Transfiguration essay?"

"It's fine, just a few things that need correcting. But your one on Charms is absolutely atrocious. Did you even read through the book before writing it?" Hermione sighed.

"Oh, well… I only got around to doing it the day before we went to the Finals." Ron scratched his head sheepishly. "If you can just tell me what to correct…?"

Hermione sent him a glare. "No. We still have time, everything you need is in the textbook."

Ron replied with a grin. "Last year's textbook. I didn't bring it, did I?"

"Oh, I have it." Harry said, then he opened his trunk again and took it out.

Ron reluctantly took it from his with a quiet groan and started flicking through the pages before he turned to Ernie to ask what the page was. Hermione, however, narrowed her eyes at Harry and casually asked. "Harry, could I borrow a book as well?"

"Sure. What do you need?" Harry leaned over his trunk again.

"Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4." Hermione said.

Harry searched through his trunk, a frown slowly forming as he couldn't find what she was asking for. His head snapped up as he realised why and he turned to Hermione to find her scowling at him.

"You don't have it do you? Did you go to Diagon Alley?" she asked rather sharply. The worry she had shown at the start of the train journey seemed to have been replaced by anger at Harry's refusal to talk about his summer. "You said you needed new robes and-"

Harry raised his hands to stop her. "No I didn't go. I can wear the robes for another year and I'm sure McGonagall can find me an old textbook somewhere."

"But why?" Hermione looked worried again. "Why didn't you go with Mrs. Weasl-"

There was a knock and the familiar voice of the witch asked if they wanted anything to eat. Harry gave a small sigh of relief. "Food. I should get something to eat, I'm feeling a bit hungry."

He wasn't really, but he probably looked it and Hermione moved aside to let him pass. He bought a lot of food and shared it with his friends, as well as Fen, who had woken up at the smell. Harry only picked at the food, but had quite a bit of chocolate, which didn't seem as bad. He managed to avoid talking to Hermione about Diagon Alley for the remainder of the journey and changed to their robes as they approached the castle. Hermione was right, he could definitely have used some new ones, but he tried not to show his discomfort too much by fidgeting about.

They heard Remus' voice as they left the train, calling for the first years. They shouted hello and Remus waved back, before frowning when he saw Harry. But there was already a small crowd of new students forming around him so he just gave Harry a look of 'we'll talk later', before he continued to call for the new arrivals.

Harry and the others followed the rest of the students along the platform, until they reached a muddy stretch of road where at least a hundred stagecoaches would be waiting for them. After he first went on the coaches during his second year he quickly forgot about them, there was much more impressive magic surrounding them from the moment they stepped through the barrier at King's Cross. However, this time when Harry reached the coaches, he came to a sudden halt, causing Hermione and Sue to bump into him.

His mouth dropped open and he stared wordlessly at the creatures bound to every single one of the coaches that were slowly being filled with students, all of whom seemed to be completely unaware of the nightmarish beings that were mere inches from some of them. Their shapes vaguely resembled malnourished horses, with their taut black skin clinging onto bones, stringy black hair swaying softly in the wind. They had huge bat like wings that brought Harry's mind to the winged horses he had seen in Hagrid company a few times, but there was nothing beautiful about these reptilian creatures. One seemed to turn towards Harry and the boy shuddered unconsciously as he saw the milky white eyes staring through the tuft of black mane covering it's head.

"What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked as he closed his eyes and shook his head violently.

He opened them again but the creatures were still there. His mouth felt dry as he turned to Hermione. "Do you see…?"

Hermione and Sue looked in the direction Harry was staring at, but they only gave a confused frown. "What is it?"

"Never mind." Harry started walking again towards a carriage Ron and Ernie were standing besides. He climbed inside without looking at the 'horses' or his friends and sat down with his eyes closed. As they started slowly moving towards the school Harry felt calm again. It didn't matter, once he was back in the castle, once he could finally get this _thing_ off, everything would be back to normal. When he heard Hermione quietly asking if he was okay, he kept his eyes firmly shut, pretending to be asleep.

He eventually did fall asleep for a few minutes, until Ron shook him awake, telling him that they were at the castle. They joined the crowd of students and entered the castle, nodding with a forced smile as people asked him about his summer. He gave a few short replies before he saw the Headmaster, Professor Riddle and his head of house, Professor McGonagall. Both their reactions were similar to his friends' when they laid eyes on Harry.

"Hurry along now, the Sorting will start soon." Riddle called out before he turned towards Harry who had walked up to the two Professors. "Harry..."

Professor Riddle stared at him with sadness in his eyes, and something else Harry couldn't identify. Harry just smiled slightly, eager to get the Charm off. "Hello, Professors."

"Tom, perhaps you should do this somewhere more private?" Professor McGonagall said quietly without taking her eyes off Harry.

"Yes. That's probably a good idea." Riddle shot a look behind Harry that sent off several lingering students. Then he raised an eyebrow at someone.

"We want to make sure he's okay." Hermione's voice was firm, her tone not one she usually took when talking to her teachers.

"We'll take him back to the Great Hall afterwards." Ron said as he patted Harry's shoulder gently.

"Alright then." Riddle smiled at them and gave a small nod to Professor McGonagall before leading them to an empty classroom nearby. The Headmaster summoned four chairs and they sat in a circle in the middle of the classroom. "Molly Weasley sent me a letter earlier today."

Harry nodded. "She said she would."

"Harry why didn't you tell someone?" Riddle frowned at Harry's almost unconcerned response. "Did you talk to your friends about it?"

"About what?" Harry asked.

"He didn't tell us anything, Professor." Hermione sniffed and shot an annoyed look at Harry. "He's asking why you didn't tell us that they were _starving_ you!"

Harry tried to protest, "They weren't staving me, they-"

"Even if you didn't do some chores, they can't just refuse to feed you!" Hermione cut him off.

Harry just shook his head and stared at the floor. He just wanted to get the thing off and go to the feast. Hermione and Ron started telling the Headmaster everything he had told them on the train, as well as a few other things, like the fact he had stopped writing to them a while back and that he didn't go to Diagon Alley.

"Harry." Riddle said gently and Harry looked back up with a blank expression. "How are you feeling right now?"

Harry frowned in confusion at the question. "I… I want to take the Charm off..."

"Other than that. Are you worried about having been unable to go to Diagon Alley? Are you angry at your relatives?" Professor Riddle asked, looking concerned.

Harry had to think for a moment. "I think so? I'm not sure."

"Alright. Sorry for these questions, you can take it off now." Professor Riddle said without further comment.

Harry didn't need to be told twice. His hands went to the leather strap around his neck and he slowly pulled it over his head. The effect was instantaneous, it was like being hit with a splash of cold water and he suddenly felt like he let out a breath he'd been holding for weeks. He stared at his friends and it felt like he could actually see them again. Hermione, with worry mingling with anger at Harry, his relatives as well as herself for being unable to help, and Ron, thoughts of the feast that he had looked forward to so much all but forgotten, his only concern now to be here for his friend.

They were close enough that if he reached out he could easily touch them, but he suddenly missed them so much, waves of neglected emotions relentlessly crashing over him and he felt a prickling in his eyes as he let out a small sob. "I'm back… I'm home..."

* * *

 **A/N**

I'm back...! Wooo~~

Sorry it took so long to finally start updating again, my writing has slowed down a bit. I have a few chapters written up but I'm still slightly worried about whether I'll be able to keep the chapter a week schedule I set myself. I'm still not 100% sure about some of the stuff for Year 4, but I'm hoping that actually posting this chapter will be the kick I need to actually find some time to write regularly. I'll see how much I can get done in the next week, but I might have to resort to less frequent updates or a break mid-year 4. I'm really hoping I won't have to do that but...

Anyway, thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one too. Oh, just in case anyone's wondering, I normally send a message to the reviewer rather than respond in the notes, so don't think I'm ungrateful for the reviews!


	25. Year 4 - Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **The Good with the Bad**

 _Mr. Potter_

 _The Headmaster has written to me concerning the Nullificare Charm and your experience with it during your summer. I ask for your forgiveness, I should have warned you in advanced, perhaps taking some time to actually discuss the Charm. Normally an Unspeakable or a healer would be present when the Charm is first allocated to explain some of the effects that it could have on a person, but I realise now, much too late, that neither were there for you last year and that the Minister did little to help explain matters._

 _Feeling your emotions dulled is not a cause for concern, since it is the intended effect of the Nullificare Charm, however, from what I can tell, it seems to affect you more strongly than others. I have discussed it with a few of my colleagues, without disclosing your name of course, and I have come to the conclusion that it is your traumatic past that is causing this, perhaps the spells interacting with the curse scar your received on the ill fated day._

 _Given this I think you should know there is a side effects that have been noted with people who have worn the Charm for prolonged periods of time, effects you may already be experiencing. It is not permanent, but for a while you may experience a heightened sense of emotion. It is your mind catching up with the last two months of your life and while it may feel unsettling, it is essentially a healing process that you are going through and you will come out the better for it._

 _This whole situation has put me into a difficult position, but as I write this I have made a choice to work with the Headmaster and attempt to overturn the decision which has caused you to be given the Charm, even if it goes against my father's wishes._

 _We will try our best, but I can make no promises. So in the meantime, if you have any questions about the Charm, and perhaps anything about your experience with it during the summer you wish to discuss, send me an owl and I shall try and reply promptly._

 _You have endured the worse of it during your summer and hopefully you will not have to again, it might seem callous of me to say this, but try not to worry about it too much._

 _Best Wishes_

 _Kendra Dumbledore_

* * *

It took a while for Harry to calm down after he broke down in the classroom. The Headmaster waited patiently while Hermione gave him another hug and Ron squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. Once he stopped crying, he didn't argue with Professor Riddle when he said he wanted Madam Pomfrey to check over him. So the Headmaster went back to the Great Hall to call for the nurse, while Harry, with his face flushed with embarrassment and his eyes blotchy with shed tears, made his way to the hospital wing with Ron and Hermione.

Hermione thankfully didn't bring up what happened in the room, or anything else about the Charm and his summer, and they talked about inconsequential things along the way, things that were already mentioned on the train journey earlier that day, but Harry almost felt like he was hearing them for the first time.

He only had to wait a few minutes before the matron came bustling in with the Headmaster at her heels. She pursed her lips when she saw Harry but waited until she sent off Ron and Hermione, as well as the Headmaster, before she started questioning him. He sat there while she waved her wand around him and tried to answer her as truthfully as possible, but some of the details from his summer was quite hazy and she noted his hesitant replies on a sheet of parchment.

Harry also felt very hungry and very tired, whatever had kept him going without complaint for the last few weeks had vanished and he wanted nothing more than to climb into bed with a large plate of Hogwart's finest treacle tart. She absolutely did not offer him anything of the sort and instead had some soup brought to him which was quite simple compared to what his friends would be having in the Great Hall, but he still ate with great relish.

Before leaving him to catch up on some much needed sleep, Madam Pomfrey asked Harry if there was anything else he wanted to tell her about his summer with the Charm. For a moment he considered telling her about the dreams he's been having, but in the end decided not too, telling himself that it was just another minor side effect that he wouldn't have to worry about now that he wasn't wearing it. He was more confident of his decision to keep it to himself when he received a letter from Kendra Dumbledore a few days later. While she didn't mention anything about dreams specifically, he chose to interpret it as another effect of having a 'traumatic past'.

The next morning Madam Pomfrey allowed his to go to his lessons, although with great reluctance, and only after he'd eaten the food she provided instead of the sausage and eggs he'd been hoping for. He was glad to find that the first lesson of term was Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. He was still feeling slightly worn out despite having slept for almost twelve hours straight, thankfully with no dreams of any sort, and being outside in the crisp autumn air kept him more alert than being stuck in a classroom.

It was quite an easy lesson as well, since Hagrid spent most of the lesson talking about Ichneumon, using the newly Ministry approved Fenlutus as an example. Ron seemed more adept at handling her and could now get her to show her spines on command. Everyone was fascinated and enjoyed the lesson apart from Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who had been on the receiving end of her death glare last year and refused to go near the 'beast'. At the end of the lesson Hagrid asked Ron if he could borrow her to use in his lessons with the other years. He red haired boy was more than eager to show off his pet.

He had Transfiguration before lunch and Professor McGonagall held him back to discuss his school supplies. There were a few new textbooks that he needed and although there were some old copies he could borrow, she brought up the possibility of a brief visit to Diagon Alley during the coming weekend if he wanted to get the books himself, as well as a few other things including robes which he would need to be measured for.

He quickly said yes, grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of visiting the wondrous place again and the Professor gave him a smile of her own before sending him off to lunch. He remembered Madam Pomfrey's advice from that morning and ate slowly and not too much while he listened to his housemates discuss the upcoming Triwizard Tournament which was announced by Professor McGonagall the night before. There seemed to be quite a few Gryffindors who were interested in trying for Champion, including Angelina Johnson, a member of the Quidditch team. Harry briefly wondered what was going to happen to the Quidditch team if she as well as the Weasley twins got picked to go to Durmstrang. With Oliver having graduated last year, they would need to find a lot of new players.

Ron was obviously excited, having spent the last year with Harry and his other friends preparing for the Tournament. They had until October to put their names forward and since they didn't know what McGonagall's test was going to consist of, they decided to spend a few weeks reviewing what they practised last year as well as trying to cram in as many new spells as possible.

By the end of the week, Harry was almost feeling back to normal and even though he had to wake up early on the Saturday morning after a tiring week of lessons, he was eager to get going while everybody else was still asleep. He was sure going to Diagon Alley during term time wasn't something that was usually allowed, so he had kept it quiet and only told a few people. He quickly got dressed and made his way to the entrance where Professor Riddle and Remus were waiting for him.

"Harry, I hope you're feeling better?" Riddle asked with a smile.

"Yes Professor. Hi Remus." Harry looked at the werewolf and realised he looked much better than last year in the months after his release from Azkaban. "Are you taking me to London?"

"Yes, I am." Remus nodded, his eyes trying to appraise Harry's state. "You're definitely look much better Harry."

Harry gave him an embarrassed smile before turning to the Headmaster with a questioning look. "Are you coming as well, Professor?"

Riddle looked at him for a moment and said slowly, as if trying to gauge Harry's reaction. "No… I am going to go speak to your aunt and uncle today..."

"Oh." was all that Harry could say as his jaws clenched.

"Would you like to be there when I speak to them?" the Headmaster's voice was soft, trying to sooth the boy.

"I… No, I think I'd rather not see them for a while." Harry let out a soft sigh.

The Headmaster stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Alright then, but I think you should considering going to see them before returning for the summer."

"I'll think about it..." Harry said truthfully when he saw the concern in the Headmaster's eyes. "What are you going to say to them?"

"Hmm… I'm just going to give them some advice on how to help someone who is wearing the Nullificare Charm." Riddle's words were gentle but his eyes seemed to get darker, a quietly contained red anger glowing from them.

Harry had to resist the urge to shiver. "Are you… are you going to hurt them?"

Riddle laughed out loud, the anger gone from his eyes. He gave a slight smile and asked jokingly. "Would you mind if I did?"

"I'd rather not give them another reason to hate magic." Harry gave a nervous laugh and tried to smile. Professor Riddle was looking at him again, as if the question was another test of some sort.

"I promise I'll leave them in one piece. Well then, you two should get going. Try not to be too late coming back." the Headmaster smiled, giving them a small wave.

Harry and Remus walked side by side towards the school gates. Remus informed him that they would be Apparating to Diagon Alley to which Harry just nodded silently.

"Harry." Remus let out a sigh as the boy turned to face him. "Why didn't you tell someone what you were going through?"

Harry let out a sigh of his own. "I don't know, I didn't want to worry you I guess."

"You didn't want to worry me?" Remus let out a mirthless laugh. "Now I'll be worrying whenever you tell me you're doing fine."

"Sorry." Harry muttered. "I didn't think I needed at first and later on I couldn't even think clearly."

"Professor Riddle told me about that... you're not still feeling like that are you?" Harry shook his head as they stepped out of the gates. Remus turned and put on hand on his shoulder. "Harry… I… When… From the moment you I saw you when you stepped out of the train and onto the platform three years ago, I immediately knew who you were. I'm sure you're tired of hearing this, but you looked, and still do, exactly like your father at your age. And.. and.. I thought of you as family. James was like a brother to me, he and Sirius both gave me so much when we were here together… so much that I could never hope to repay, but… for you I'd do anything... and... I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you."

Harry blushed in embarrassment and turned his face away with his eyes shut, he had already shed tears far too many times this week. It wasn't just the crying but he had also snapped rather harshly at an eleven year old Dennis Creevey, Colin's brother who had just come to Hogwarts, and during Divination he had broken into an uncontrollable fit of giggles at something that Ron had said that wasn't even that funny, and in the end Professor Parnassos told Harry to go to the hospital wing, thinking there was something wrong with him. He supposed it was a good thing that he could feel like this again, but he still felt uncomfortable about it. He really didn't want to show himself like this in front of Remus.

Remus stayed silent for a moment and misunderstanding Harry's reaction, said. "I… I know you've only known me for a few years and you probably don't want a werewol-"

"No!" Harry's eyes shot open and he turned to Remus, who looked at him in surprise. "I don't care that you're a werewolf and I'm really grateful for all you've done for me these past few years. The camera, the pictures, all the stories about my parents, you've given me so much and I don't think I ever properly thanked you for it. I guess I never thought about it, but... you _are_ like family, you always looked out for me and gave me a link to my parents that I never thought I would have. Thank you for that, and I'm sorry I didn't say anything during the summer. It's just… I don't want you to be disappointed in me, I got myself into this whole mess because I couldn't control myself in front of my aunt..."

"Harry, I'm sure you've heard it a million times already, but it is not your fault. People lose control sometimes and that's why there's a whole department in the Ministry to fix things, that's why Hogwarts exists. I would never be disappointed in you and I'd rather you talked these things with me, or someone else, than keep it to yourself. Being family means taking the good as well as the bad, it took a while for me to learn that, with my… condition… but your father and Sirius helped me realise that I can't just push aside these thoughts forever, and that it's not a weakness to want to talk to someone about it." Remus gripped Harry's shoulder gently and gave him a smile.

Harry sniffed and wiped his nose with the sleeve of his robes. He nodded at Remus' words. "Okay."

"Alright then, I'll say nothing more about it right now. Ready Harry?" Harry looked confused for a moment, but then he moved his hand to grip Remus' arm tightly. He nodded and closed his eyes. He opened them again to the bustle of Diagon Alley.

It took a moment for him to steady himself, he didn't think he would ever get used to the sensation of Apparition. Even though Diagon Alley was without the students that normally thronged the place in the days before school starting again, there were still plenty of wizards and witches doing their shopping on this Saturday morning.

They made their way to Gringotts first where Harry took out possibly more money than he needed. Remus offered to buy the few books that he needed while Harry went to get fitted for some new robes. Madam Malkin raised her eyebrows at the late arrival, but motioned him onto the footstool. Thankfully, she didn't ask why Harry hadn't been here before returning to Hogwarts, she just asked if he had a nice summer. Harry murmured a quiet reply saying it was fine, sighing in relief when Remus entered the shop. He caught Harry's expression and steered the conversation away from Harry by asking the witch how her business was doing.

It didn't take too long after that and they eventually left the shop with the robes tucked in a bag. Harry had a few other things to get, a new quill, some ink and he wanted to get some treats for Hedwig as well, he hadn't really treated her all that well during the summer, while his familiar had kept him company and helped him out of his nightmares on more than one occasion.

Remus told Harry that they didn't need to hurry back so they took their time, looking through the windows of the various shops. Like he had done last year with Sirius, Harry lingered in front of the Quidditch supply store, staring at the Firebolt longingly. Remus eventually dragged him away saying they should get something to eat.

At the Leaky Cauldron, Harry opted for a full English breakfast, while Remus tore into a very rare steak. They were half way through the meal, when Harry suddenly realised he hadn't asked Remus how he had spent the summer.

Remus swallowed what he was chewing before answering. "We've been trying to track down Peter Pettigrew."

"Did you find him?" Harry asked with a frown. He had completely forgotten about the man. It seemed he had forgotten about quite a lot of things during the summer.

"Unfortunately not. I've been trying to find out where he'd been since he left Hogwarts. We know he left the country a few days after he dropped out, and we think he went across the Channel to France first, but after that we're not sure." Remus took a drink before continuing. "Sirius has been tracking down leads to try and find where he might be hiding now, but he's had less luck than me."

"So the Aurors are helping as well?" Harry asked.

"They did… for a while." Remus frowned. "But then with the Quidditch World Cup they couldn't really spare any Aurors for what they consider a minor case."

"But… he broke into Hogwarts! And what about the other person, this… Gaunt? They're working for Grindelwald and they could have killed so many people if..." Harry asked incredulously.

Remus snorted. "That's the Ministry for you. They decided to lay the whole blame on Greyback, saying he was the leader and that the other two that escaped are not worth the trouble of finding."

Harry made a slight scowl, he didn't think he would ever have a good thing to say about the Ministry of Magic. "But… Sirius is still trying to find him right?"

"He is but..." Remus sighed.

"What's wrong?" Harry took the final bite of his toast and asked.

"…Nothing you need to worry about." Remus tried to smile reassuringly.

Harry's face slowly turned into a wry smile. "You told me… good with the bad remember?"

"I... suppose I did..." Remus chuckled lightly before his face grew serious. "Well… he's basically ignoring the orders from his superior by tracking down Pettigrew. He's a good Auror, exceptional really, so they've been letting him do his own thing now and again, but I don't know how long he can push before he gets... sacked or something. He won't say anything to me, but I know he got into trouble for… taking me to Azkaban that day..."

"Remus, how have you been after that?" Harry berated himself for not asking sooner.

"I'm fine Harry, I'm doing a lot better." Remus smiled.

"That's good." Harry nodded. "Erm… can I ask something else? About what Kendra Dumbledore said to Professor Riddle..."

Remus' eyes widened in shock for half a second before he managed to control his expression. "What are you talking about?"

"The photo. The one Colin took?" Harry asked uncertainly. "With the bottle?"

"Oh, right." Remus shook his head. "They're still looking into it, but nothing so far."

Harry remained silent for a moment before he cleared his throat and asked quietly. "Did she say anything else?"

"Nothing you need to worry about now." Remus said quickly, looking slightly guilty.

Harry opened his mouth to argue again, but then he closed it shut. After all there were things that he was keeping from Remus as well. If he started having strange dreams again he might talk to Remus about it but otherwise, he would rather avoid thinking about it.

* * *

It was mid October and a small group of Gryffindor students were waiting outside the Transfiguration classroom. Harry watched Ron hop from one foot to another, muttering spells under his breath while he held his wand pointed at the floor producing brightly coloured sparks. Hermione was doing what she always did when she was faced with the unknown, and had had her head stuck in a heavy book she had borrowed from the library the evening before.

The three of them were the only fourth years there, it was a crowd made mostly of older students. The others in Harry's year had all decided that they would wait until their seventh year, given that according to McGonagall there hadn't been anyone below the fifth year that had ever been a potential candidate. Surprisingly, there were also two students younger than Harry, Colin had managed to convince one of his friends to try out McGonagall's test with him. Harry doubted they thought they were going to get through whatever their head of house was about to throw at them, but that was possibly why, unlike everyone else waiting there, the two boys didn't appear to be showing any signs of nervousness.

They had spent the last month trying to find out exactly how the Professor was planning on testing them, but everybody who seemed to have an idea refused to tell them. Ron had written to his brother Bill, who had been Champion previously, but had only gotten a reply telling him that they would be risking life and limb by competing in the Triwizard Tournament, and if they couldn't pass the relatively simple test McGonagall was going to put them through, they would have no chance with the real thing.

But it didn't stop them from imagining what they were about to face, and as the door opened at noon sharp, Harry felt a knot in his stomach as he remembered Ron's latest theory, which was duelling a fully grown mountain troll. Hermione had scoffed at the idea, but from what she had read to them about the Tournament, the school Champions had to face a lot more that made a single troll seem pretty tame in comparison.

As they stepped into the classroom, Ron let out a groan, Hermione gave an audible sigh of relief and Harry shook his head in amusement for even thinking McGonagall would unleash a troll at them. The desks were set evenly apart, slightly further than they were normally throughout the year and on top of each desk was a thick layer of parchment. They were about to take a written test. Harry sat down between a grumbling Ron and a grinning Hermione and waited patiently for the rest of the students to settle down.

Professor McGonagall stood up from behind her desk and the few talking students were instantly silenced. "You are all here because you want to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, which is being held this year at Durmstrang Institute. I do not need to tell you how dangerous it is and I will not be putting your name forwards if I do not have _absolute_ confidence that you will manage to make it through without lasting harm. Now, as most of you have realised the first part will be a written test and if your answers are adequate, there will be a more practical test afterwards. You have an hour to-"

"An hour?" Hermione squawked out loud, before blushing as several students laughed at her outburst. Harry wasn't one of them, the pile of parchment in front of him was at least an inch thick and if it was anything like the homework she handed out, there could be at least a hundred questions in there.

"Yes Miss Granger, an hour. Now, if you would please let me finish, you have an hour to answer as many questions as you can. So if you cannot answer a question, simply move on to the next. I will also point out that it is not the quantity of answers you give, but the quality. A single questions answered in detail will allow me to appraise your skill better than a dozen answered carelessly. They will consist of a variety of questions on various subject, some that are not even taught at Hogwarts, but knowledge that I believe will be useful if you get chosen as a Champion. Any questions?" she glanced around the room, but everyone stayed quiet. "Very well. You may begin."

There was a flurry of noise as every single student turned over the think layer of parchment over at the same time and then there was silence. Harry stared at the first question and felt his mouth drop open. It was a simple question, only seven words long, and he could understand what they were asking him, but he had no idea what to write. He sneaked a glance towards Ron who was frowning but had slowly started scribbling an answer. On his other side Hermione had a look of great concentration and was quickly writing without hesitation. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and Harry turned his head to find her staring directly at him. He gave her an apologetic smile and turned back to the question in front of him.

 _How would you get past a dragon?_

Harry had… absolutely no idea. They had certainly never covered dragons in Hagrid's class and the only thing he knew about them was that even if they're young, they have a vicious streak and can leave lasting scars on someone as strong as the huge professor. He tried to rack his brains for anything else he had heard about them and suddenly remembered something.

He inked his quill and carefully wrote, _'Borrow Fen off Ron.'_ He smirked to himself, but then thought that maybe this might not really show his abilities, as he was meant to, and he added, ' _Use a Disillusionment Charm and sneak pass._ '

Harry quickly moved on to the next question, which started simple enough.

 _There are two doors with writing above each. Which path would you take and why?_

Simple enough, but the 'writing' was unfortunately not in English. He had, however, encountered it before and knew enough to recognise it as runes. Hermione would probably be able to read this but he and Ron wouldn't have a chance. He quickly put, ' _The door on the right. Because it feels right._ '

He knew it wasn't going to be enough but that was all he could do. He quickly glanced at each question before skipping most of them, a few sheets he quickly left aside without writing a single word. There really was a question on every subject, he was asked about identifying potions, magical beasts as well as a deceptively simple question on a Transfiguration spell that Harry was sure they covered last year. By the time the hour was up Harry had been struggling with a diagram of a chessboard mid-game, trying to work out how he would achieve a checkmate in three moves.

"Quills on the table please!" McGonagall said sternly as everyone tried to get a final sentence finished. She then waved her wand and summoned the tests, which landed in a neat pile on her desk. "It will take a while for me to look over these, so come back after you have had your lunch and I will be able to tell you if and when you will have your practical test."

Everyone left the classroom talking excitedly amongst themselves. For once, it wasn't Hermione but Ron who was more eager to go through the test they just had. "First question, Dragons? What did you put?"

Hermione shook her head, "I said possibly Transfigure it into something less deadly, but I honestly don't think that would work. Then I said Transfigure something else to try and distract it… What did you write?"

Ron caught Harry's eyes and they both grinned and said at the same time, "Fen."

"Fen?" Hermione looked momentarily confused. "Oh, Fen… Well the question wasn't how would you _kill_ the dragon was it? Still… I wonder what Professor McGonagall will think..."

"Yeah, I though it doesn't really show skill and stuff, so I added a Disillusionment Charm afterwards." Harry said, looking slightly pleased with himself.

All the way down to the Great Hall and throughout lunch they discussed the test, Ron and Hermione filling him in on what was on the last two sheets of parchment he never got to. They joined a group of their fourth year friends who asked them if they got through and they told them that they just had a written test and wouldn't know until later.

They were soon back in the Transfiguration classroom standing in front of McGonagall's desk. She looked up at them and gave them a hard look, "Come back in three hours, I'll be testing you then."

Ron cheered out loud and Hermione quickly dragged the red head out while muttering an apology to the Professor. Harry was stunned as well, he never expected them to get this far. They found Ernie and Sue to tell them the news, and spent the next few hours practising spell after spell. Ernie had taken the test with Professor Sprout a week earlier but didn't get chosen as a candidate, and Sue, like so many others, had decided to wait until the next one before trying out after hearing rumours that they had to duel Professor Flitwick, who had apparently been a duelling champion when he was younger.

Their friends wished them luck before they were back again, where they saw the Weasley twins coming out with huge grins on their faces. Ron looked impressed, "You did well then?"

"Of course we did!" Fred laughed. "We've been training for this for over a year!"

"Durmstrang, here we come!" George jumped in the air, fist raised in triumph.

"Mr. Weasleys!" the door slammed open and Professor McGonagall stood there, looking annoyed. "I realise you are pleased, but please do not make a racket outside of my classroom. Hurry along now."

"Sorry, Professor!" they said as one, before running down the corridor, bellowing in joy.

The Professor sighed in exasperation, not even bothering to shout at them for the running, before turning to the three that were standing there. "I think… we shall start with Mr. Weasley, you two please wait here."

Ron gave them a nod, looking nervous and excited at the same time, before he walked through the door and closed it behind him. Hermione took out her book again and began quietly reading through, while Harry paced up and down the corridor. Ron came out after about five minutes, shaking his head at their questioning looks, but not looking too disappointed. "It was going to be a long shot, wasn't it? Harry you're next, good luck mate."

Harry gulped and walked inside. The desks that they used in the morning had been cleared to one side and in the middle of the room was a dummy, very similar to the one he had seen during his first year, inside the train that was used to ferry the students to the Tournament. Professor McGonagall stood next to it and motioned Harry forwards.

"Mr. Potter, before we begin I'll say the same thing I've just told Mr. Weasley. Your answers from this morning, while interesting, does not give me the confidence that you will be able to accomplish the tasks given to you during the Tournament. However, I realise all of you have been working hard this past year for this, so I am inclined to give you a chance. If there is anything your past three years at the school has taught me, is that you and your friends have an unfortunate habit of attracting trouble, but also that you can be very resourceful when you are faced with such. Try your best, but think of this as a trial run, after all, you will have another chance in three years time." McGonagall said patiently.

"I understand, Professor." Harry relaxed visibly, there didn't seem to be as much pressure now. "Erm… so what do I do?"

"What can you do Mr. Potter?" the Professor asked with a smile. "Well now, you mentioned the Disillusionment Charm in the test, could you please preform it for me? On yourself or on the practice dummy, whatever you feel more comfortable with."

"W...what? The Di..disillusionment Charm?" Harry stuttered.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "Well, yes. As I have said, the written test was for me to assess your skills. I didn't think you would have mentioned it if you were unable to use it."

After seeing the spell in action in the forest last year, it was something that they were determined to learn how to use. They immediately hit a wall when they came across the concept of nonverbal spells. According to research by Hermione and Sue, it was something that they wouldn't be learning until their N.E.W.T.s. It didn't stop them from trying though, but not only did they fail to make themselves in any way invisible, they had all failed to used any spells nonverbally. Only Hermione managed to get the briefest of flutter from a feather they had been trying to levitate, but no one was really sure if that had been from a stray breeze through the windows.

Harry let out a breath and gripped his wand tightly, he scrunched up his face in concentration, facing the wooden dummy in front of him. He closed his eyes and moved his wand like he had practised before, tapping the head lightly, while he tried to picture the humanoid shape vanishing before him. He tentatively peeked open one eye and saw that, unfortunately, the dummy in front of him was still visible and not even a shade lighter.

He turned back to Professor McGonagall with a light blush on his cheeks and saw her smiling at him. Not a condescending smile, but one that actually looked quite pleased. "Well Mr. Potter, it seems you've actually researched the spell before attempting it. I would have been very surprised if you had actually managed it at your age, it is a very advanced spell after all and not even all the students in the seventh year could manage it. But if you keep working on it, I think you might actually start to see results in a few years time."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry grinned. For the next few minutes, Harry unleashed all the spells he had been practising on the defenceless dummy, while the Professor nodded with mild approval. He even attempted a few Transfiguration spells that they had not yet covered in class and while they were unlikely to help him get past a dragon or such, Hermione insisted that since it was their head of house's personal subject, she might appreciate it and true enough the Professor's smile widened at Harry's attempts.

"I think I've seen enough Mr. Potter." McGonagall nodded in approval. "Both you and Mr. Weasley have exceeded my expectations of what a fourth year student could achieve, keep at it and I look forward to seeing you back here in three year's time."

"Yes Professor." it wasn't what he was hoping for when he started doing all this extra work last year, but it was what he had expected. He was still glad he tried out though, it was heartening to hear the approval from Professor McGonagall.

"Call Miss Granger in, will you?" Harry turned and left the room, his two friends stared at him expectantly, but he confused them my shaking his head and smiling at the same time.

"We'll be ready for it next time." Harry said and Ron patted his shoulder in sympathy. "You're next Hermione."

"Oh, okay." she was looking quite pale and more than a little nervous.

"Relax Hermione. McGonagall told me to think of this as a practice run, so that we'll do better when we try again in our seventh year." Harry reassured her. Hermione gave him a small nod before taking a deep breath and entered the classroom.

"How was it?" Ron asked.

"I think it went quite well, she seemed quite pleased with what I could do so far." Harry shrugged. "Told me she was looking forwards to when I try out again next time."

Ron grinned. "She said the same to me."

They talked while they waited for Hermione. They had pretty much shown the same spells to the Professor, although Ron didn't attempt to try to make anything invisible. Their friend seemed to be taking a while and it was over ten minutes later, over double what Harry and Ron had took, before she stepped outside with a strange expression on her face.

Professor McGonagall walked out with her. "Well, Miss Granger, think about what I said, and please have an answer for me soon."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall." Hermione replied breathlessly.

As the Professor went back inside, the three friends stared at each other, Ron was the first to speak, "Does that mean..."

Hermione was still looking slightly dazed, but gave them a tiny nod. Harry and Ron looked shocked for a moment before they started congratulating her, Ron even gave her a hug, leaving the young witch blushing scarlet.

"S… she said that if I wanted to, I could go to Durmstrang..." Hermione finally explained. "She thinks… I know enough to have a chance… a small, tiny chance, I'm sure… but…"

"Why are we even surprised?" Harry laughed. "You're the smartest in our year!"

Hermione just shook her head. "I don't think I'll be going though."

"What? Why?" Ron said, looking even more surprised than he did a moment ago. "You have to!"

"I just don't want to be there on my own..." Hermione sighed. "It did sound interesting though… She told me anyone who doesn't get picked as Champion can either come back to Hogwarts or stay at Durmstrang for the year. Professor Riddle would give private lessons to anyone deciding to stay and apparently a few of the Durmstrang classes are going to be open to students from the other schools as well..."

Ron shook his head in exasperation, "You have a chance to be school Champion and you're interested in what lessons you're going to be having? You're bloody mad Hermione..."


	26. Year 4 - Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Taking Off**

 _H-_ (the pen had pressed against the tiny piece of paper hard enough to puncture a hole through it, in fact there were tiny holes throughout the whole letter and the handwriting was slightly shaky, although he wasn't sure if it was from fear or anger)- _arry._

 _Your Headmaster has visited us, to explain some of the things you were going through this summer, and told us how to help you better in the future. I hope you enjoy your year at the school and I look forwards to seeing you next summer._

 _Vernon Dursley_

 _Oh, I forgot to mention, while your Headmaster was here, I told him that you have permission from me to visit the village during the weekends._

* * *

For a few days afterwards Ron tried to convince Hermione to go to Durmstrang, but eventually gave up and found something else that would occupy the rest of the year. With Fred and George, as well as Angelina about to leave in about two weeks time and with Oliver Wood having graduated last year, the Gryffindor Quidditch team were down four players, and the newly appointed captain, Alicia Spinnet was in a rush to replace them before their first match in November. She was extremely worried about her newly appointed position, more worried than when she had to play as a Seeker during Harry's first year at Hogwarts and didn't bother to hide the fact that she was overjoyed that at least they wouldn't be losing one of the best Seekers in the school.

Ron was showing an interest in playing, but unfortunately didn't have a broom of his own, and was trying to use his brothers' good mood to convince them to let him borrow one of their broomsticks for the year, Ginny was also trying out for a place on the team and was going after the other one. Alicia had reserved the pitch on Saturday and from what Harry had heard in the common room, a few people were interested, but not as many as they were hoping for. Most of the older students weren't showing much interest, since they had a lot of work to do with their O.W.L.s and their N.E.W.T.s and there were even some people muttering quietly that Gryffindor's chances this year were pretty slim.

It was the younger students that seemed eager, especially those that were present during Gryffindor's last match, where after a spectacularly tense game, Gryffindor emerged victorious and were awarded the Quidditch Cup surrounded by a cheering mob of students in red and gold. But as eager as they were, most of them didn't have their own broomsticks and were planning on borrowing ones from school and as bad as Harry felt for thinking this, using those were unlikely to get you a place on the team.

Harry quickly finished his breakfast and told Ron and Hermione that he would see them in a bit and hurried down to the changing rooms. After putting on his red Quidditch robes, he carried his own Nimbus to the pitch, where Alicia and Katie were already hard at work. They had come down earlier to try and sort out the few good school brooms from the outright unstable, as well as a Quaffle, a Bludger and a few bats that would be needed soon.

Soon a trickle of students started arriving at the pitch, quite a few more people than Harry was expecting, but it was soon evident that not all of them were here to try out for the team, not all of them were even in Gryffindor. There were those that were here to cheer for their friends, like Hermione, Sue and Ernie were doing for Ron, but there were also a few people Harry recognised from his previous matches, watching the field with shrewd eyes.

Alicia dumped Harry with the younger students, telling him to try and make sure that they could all at least fly without hurting themselves. Trying to remember the very first lesson he had with Madam Hooch, he split them into small groups and took them to the skies one group at a time. It was soon evident that for most of them their enthusiasm far outweighed their abilities, there were one or two that Harry was sure hadn't touched a broom since their own lessons with Madam Hooch, but most of them seem to be generally good flyers, even though there was no one that stood out in particular. Even so, he thought that with a few good practice sessions under their wings, they might make decent players.

Harry was back on the ground and he gave a momentary glance towards the goalposts, where a very pale and nervous looking Ron was trying to stop the oncoming Quaffle into the hoops. He was always a decent flyer, at least whenever he borrowed Harry's Nimbus for a ride at Hogwarts or at the Burrow. He wasn't sure if Ron or Ginny had managed to get a hold of their brothers' brooms, the twins were having fun torturing their brother by dragging it out and Ron told Harry he was going to ask them once more before coming to the field. Harry found the twins on the other side of the field along with Angelina. Even though they weren't going to be a part of the team this year, they still wanted Gryffindor to retain the Cup, and were here helping the team find their replacements. He thought that the two figures, with red hair so clearly identifiable even from a distance, were slightly unsteady in the sky, almost as if they weren't used to the broomsticks they were riding, perhaps Ron and Ginny had succeeded after all.

Someone called Harry's name and he turned around at the group that was waiting for their turn on the brooms, but a second year girl was pointing away from the Quidditch field and towards the castle. Harry looked and saw Professor McGonagall walking, slightly hurriedly, towards them. Harry quickly called out to Alicia and Katie, and the girls flew down to meet her.

Before the Professor arrived, Harry had a quick chance to ask them. "How was Ron?"

"Eh..." Alicia made a non-committal noise and shrugged slightly. "How are things over here?"

Harry made a similar gesture, "Not too bad, I guess."

"Miss Spinnet, it appears to be going well." Professor McGonagall surveyed the field full of her Gryffindors and gave a slight nod of approval.

"Is there something you needed, Professor?" Alicia asked with a relived smile, she had been quite nervous all week about taking over the team.

McGonagall's mouth thinned slightly and she turned to Harry. "I'm afraid I'll have to borrow Mr. Potter for a bit. I can see the twins and Miss Johnson are here to help you, so I'm sure you should be able to carry on without him for a while."

"Oh, right, Of course, Professor." Alicia and Katie both caught the tense expression on their head of house and turned to Harry, their eyes questioning him if he had gotten himself into trouble.

Harry was confused, he definitely didn't remember doing anything wrong. "Erm… should I get changed then?"

"No time, Mr. Potter, the Headmaster is waiting." she said curtly.

"Uh… okay." Harry looked around and saw Hermione standing nearby, not close enough to hear what they were saying but she was definitely curious about McGonagall's sudden arrival. "I'll just leave my broom with Hermione..."

Harry left the Professor and quickly walked over to his friend, she took the Nimbus and asked, "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Harry muttered. "The Headmaster wants to talk to me, apparently."

"About?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

But Harry just shrugged. "She doesn't look happy though..."

Harry hurried back as the Professor started making her way back towards the castle. He half ran until he caught up with her and, slightly breathless, asked, "Why does the Headmaster want to see me?"

"He has received correspondence from the Ministry concerning your Nullificare Charm." she said without slowing down.

"Oh." Harry felt a bitter wave of disappointment. "They couldn't convince the Ministry to take it back then? I'll have to wear it until-"

"I do not know, Mr. Potter. The Minister of Magic is coming here to speak with you about it." McGonagall turned slightly, and what Harry had thought had been annoyance he now recognised as worry.

Harry didn't have a good opinion of Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic for Britain. Everyone he knew and respected didn't seem to have a single good thing to say about the man, and his first meeting with Fudge had only led to the some of the worst summers of his life. Not only that, it had been on his orders that Remus had been unjustly taken to Azkaban, where he had to endure weeks of torment, details of which the werewolf adamantly refused to reveal to Harry. There was also the fact Sirius had let slip, that the Minister of Magic was very close to Albus Dumbledore, the old wizard that had plagued Harry's dreams during the summer. Whatever the Minister was coming all this way to say to him, Harry couldn't imagine it being anything good.

Harry kept up with Professor McGonagall's brisk pace, not really noticing anything around him. Still in his Quidditch robes and following a thin lipped Professor McGonagall gave the impression that he was whisked away from practice for causing trouble. But Harry never noticed the students whispering as they walked pass, only shaking himself from his thoughts when they had already reached the Headmaster's office and Professor McGonagall urged him pass the gargoyle he had only just realised had moved to one side at the Professor's muttered password.

Professor Riddle was waiting inside and Harry caught him with an expression very much like the one Professor McGonagall had on her face, before turning it into a reassuring smile. "Harry, I'm sorry we had to call you here in the middle of Quidditch practice."

Harry nodded, biting his lips. "You don't think it's good news then?"

Professor Riddle briefly turned to McGonagall, who was standing behind Harry, before answering. "I suppose it is good that they're finally answering us, but I didn't expect the Minister himself to join us. I genuinely have no idea what he is coming here to say."

There was a knock and the door opened before Professor Riddle had a chance to answer. A witch and a wizard stepped inside, ignoring the people and glancing around the room. The witch Harry recognised as the Auror who was sent instead of Sirius to arrest Remus, Proudfoot if he remembered correctly. The other he didn't recognise, but seemed likely that he was another Auror. The wizard leaned out the open door and muttered something quietly and finally the Minister of Magic stepped inside. Professor McGonagall let out a snort at this obvious display of distrust, but the Headmaster kept a smile fixed onto his face as he greeted the visitors. "Minister, I hope you are well. Proudfoot, Savage."

The two Aurors returned a small nod to the Professor, but the Minister was busy looking around his feet and said nervously. "Your pet... it isn't around, is it?"

"Don't worry Minister, after what happened last time, I thought it would be better to send her away during our meeting." Riddle gave the Minister an amused look.

"Well… they can be dangerous… never mind." Fudge turned a dark shade of red. He cleared his throat and turned to Harry. "Ah, Mr. Potter, your Quidditch robes? I hear you are a very good player. Hoping to play professionally in the future?"

Harry was infinitely curious about what Nagini had done to the Minister of Magic, but pushed the thought away. "I.. erm.. hadn't really thought about it."

The Minister nodded, not really hearing Harry's answer and turned to the Headmaster. "Good. Good. Now, Headmaster, you have been arguing for a year for the removal of Harry's Nullificare Charm and the Ministry is inclined to give him another chance."

"A chance?" Riddle asked carefully.

Fudge ignored the question and turned to Harry. "Now, you've learned to control yourself, haven't you Harry?"

It took Harry a moment to control himself right at that moment, to push down the anger rising up his throat and he finally answered. "Yes sir."

"Good!" Fudge gave Harry a condescending smile. "Now, you must know that Durmstrang Institute is holding the Triwizard Tournament this year, have you had any thoughts of competing?"

"I… did, but I couldn't pass Professor McGonagall's test." Harry frowned, wondering why he was suddenly bringing up the Tournament. "I'm thinking of trying again for the next one."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but..." he said with a smile, not sounding sorry at all. "I think I may be able to help you...

"Oh?" Harry commented, trying to keep the mistrustful frown from forming on his face.

The smile widened on the Minister's face. "I would like you to go to Durmstrang Institute with the rest of the students and get to know some of our European neighbours."

"Minister! You're overstepping your bounds! You cannot force someone to compete in such a dangerous Tournament when they are not ready!" McGonagall said sharply from behind Harry.

"No, no, not at all. I trust your judgement Professor McGonagall, he has no need to compete." Fudge was still smiling. "The Ministry has been getting requests for _years_ for Harry to to come visit the various countries that he has helped liberate, but we have always turned them down, you were still too young after all. But now… fourteen years old, I think he is ready to see the wider-"

"Minister." Riddle cut him off, the smile gone from his face. "I don't see what this has to do with the Nullificare Charm."

"Oh, it's to make sure he can control himself when he is somewhere unfamiliar." Fudge said vaguely, dismissing the Professor with a wave of his hand. "If he does well, then he never needs to worry about the Charm again."

"There are plenty of places to test that without needing to leave the country." Riddle's voice was cold.

"It'll be good for the boy!" Fudge insisted. "There's much he can learn at Durmstrang, and besides, being personally tutored by you, a… a... _well respected_ wizard..."

Harry didn't think he had ever seen the Minister show an ounce of respect towards the Headmaster. Riddle narrowed his eyes, "He can learn much here at Hogwarts. What is it that you want him to do there?"

"Nothing! As I've already said, he'll be doing the same as your other students there, learning and making new friends from the other schools!" Fudge said impatiently. "We just want-"

Voices were raised as the two Professors argued with the Minister, while the two Aurors were carefully trying to calm everyone down, until the Headmaster took a single step towards the Minister. Savage, the Auror, seemed to find something threatening about this slight motion and raised his wand at Professor Riddle, telling him to back down, to which Professor McGonagall shrieked in outrage.

Harry was in the middle, staring at all this happening, while he considered what the Minister had offered. Going to Durmstrang? He wasn't going to be competing, so he wouldn't have to worry about getting past dragons or reading ancient runes to save his life, but he wasn't sure what else they were expecting from him. While Hermione was weighing out the pros and cons of going herself, she had talked to Harry about it and in the end had managed to convince him that it would actually be quite fun to go.

"I'll do it." the words came out in a croak and was drowned out by the shouts from the Minister. Harry cleared his throat and tried again, "I'll do it... I'll go."

The rest of the room looked at him in surprise, almost as if they'd forgotten he was there. Professor Riddle gave him a pained expression, while Minister Fudge shot the Headmaster a look of triumph. "Of course you will, Harry! A chance to visit Durmstrang isn't something that is offered to any student, why I'm sure-"

Fudge froze, trying to work his mouth but no sound came out. Riddle had his back to Harry and was facing off the three Ministry wizards, who had blanched considerably. Tom Riddle spoke, in barely above a whisper. but in the absolute silence of the room, it almost felt like his words were echoing in their minds. "Minister, you have said what you came here to say. I think... it is best... to give time for Harry to think about it before he makes his decision, there is still time before we leave for Durmstrang, after all."

Minister Fudge trembled visibly and managed a weak stutter. "I… I… you… he… v..v..very well. H..Harry, think about it and… yes… well… We should be off then..."

And without another word the Minister turned around and barely managed to keep himself from running out. The two Aurors followed the Minister of Magic, Proudfoot giving the Headmaster a slightly apologetic look before closing the door behind her. Professor McGonagall moved to the Headmaster's side and laid a hand on his back, and in a gentle voice said, "Tom..."

The Headmaster let out a sigh, "I shouldn't have lost control like that..."

"If you hadn't, I might have done." McGonagall said with a short laugh.

After a few more whispered words Harry couldn't make out, Professor Riddle turned to Harry with a gentle smile on his face. "Let's sit down, shall we? I think a spot of tea would do us good..."

Five minutes later, Harry was sitting down on a conjured armchair, carefully blowing into a mug of steaming tea, before taking a small sip. He looked at the two Professors, who were both looking extremely tired. "Do you think… Dumbledore has something to do with it? About trying to get me to go to Durmstrang, I mean..."

"...That would seem likely." Professor Riddle answered with a sigh.

"Why does he want me to go there? Does it have anything to do with what you told me last summer?" Harry realised now that he might have been a little hasty in accepting the Minister's offer, he had so many questions about the whole thing. "What do you think he expects me to do when I get there?"

"I'm not sure..." Riddle shook his head.

"Any… insights about his motivations?" Professor McGonagall asked with a meaningful look.

"He… appears to be telling the truth when he says he isn't expecting Harry to do anything." the Headmaster said slowly.

"How can you tell?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, just a little trick I know." Riddle said simply. "It doesn't always work, but I'm sure I'm right this time..."

"That's good then, right?" Harry said hopefully.

The Headmaster didn't reply and took a sip of his tea. Professor McGonagall eventually said, "It might be a good thing, Headmaster, you could keep a close eye on Harry if he's there with you and I'm sure the Durmstrang wards are as good as the ones at Hogwarts..."

"Harry, is this what you really want?" Professor Riddle turned to Harry, his expression blank.

"I… Hermione told me what happens if you don't get chosen as the Champion, and I thought it might be quite interesting to go..." Harry hesitated, then he remembered Remus' words and he lowered his eyes before he began to speak again. "I don't really care if I go or not but... but... I really don't want to wear that… _thing…_ ever again. Kendra said you're both working to try so that I don't have to but… Do you think there will be a way if I don't accept the Minister's offer?"

Harry looked up and the Headmaster gave him a sad shake of the head. "I don't know, Harry…"

"Maybe… Fudge is telling the truth and he just wants me to go there? He said people were writing to him for me to visit places, maybe it has nothing to do with Dumbledore at all?" Harry really didn't think that was the case, but he could still hope.

"Maybe..." Professor Riddle seemed unconvinced. "Harry, why don't you go think about it for a few days. I think I'll write to Kendra, if her father is involved she might know something. I'll call you back here when I hear from her and you can decide then."

"That is a good idea." McGonagall nodded in agreement. "You should get back to the Quidditch pitch, I'm sure they'll still be there, waiting for you to get back."

Harry felt a flash of guilt as he imagined the conversation with Alicia, where he would have to tell her he wouldn't be here to play Seeker. "Yes Professor."

* * *

"YOU'RE DOING WHAT?" despite her reaction being completely as he had expected, Harry still flinched back when Alicia all but screamed at him in the middle of the bustling corridor.

"There's an empty classroom over there, let's talk inside..." Harry blushed as he saw several people watching them with mild curiosity. He started walking and thankfully the fuming Alicia was following him.

The Gryffindor Chaser took a deep breath, calming herself, but she still glared at him with her arms crossed. "Well?"

When Harry left the Headmaster's office that day, he went back to the Quidditch pitch, although not in much of a hurry. There were much less people now, the rest of the team managed to weed out the some of the less experienced students and were now playing an actual match. Alicia had talked about having a few extra members as reserves in case something happens to the regulars, she didn't say it out loud but they were all thinking of Oliver's attack last year. Harry thought that this was a great idea, now more than ever, hoping Alicia wouldn't be as angry as he was expecting, if there was someone that could replace him.

He joined them but the match didn't last long afterwards, they'd been at it for a few hours now and most of them weren't used to the practice and looked tired. Alicia told them that she would announce who made the team in a few days and the Gryffindors disbanded. Hermione was looking impatient by the time Harry had changed, she had been more curious about what the Headmaster wanted than anything Quidditch related.

They went to the Great Hall for lunch and after sitting at the end of the table, away from anyone else, Harry told his friends what happened in the Headmaster's office.

"Really? That's good... right?" Hermione beamed at him but then looked uncertain at Harry's frown.

"I'm… not sure. Professor Riddle seems to think there might be something that they're not telling us." Harry explained the possibility that Albus Dumbledore was involved in it.

Ron mumbled something, while he played around with the food in front of him. Then he shook his head and turned to Harry with a smile that looked slightly forced. "It'll be worth it to not have to wear that thing I guess, you really looked bad on the first day."

"Yeah, I think so too." Hermione agreed, giving Ron a look.

"You don't think they'll let us come as well, do you?" Ron sighed. It turned out the Quidditch hadn't gone as well as he had hoped and he didn't think he would make it onto the team.

Harry was called back to the Headmaster's office the next day, but unfortunately Kendra didn't have much to tell them. Since agreeing to help Harry, her father had avoided any topic of conversation concerning the boy, and she had no idea if her father was involved in the plan to get Harry to go to Durmstrang or not. However, she did say that when she mentioned it to him, he did not look surprised, so he must have already known about it.

So the decision was left to Harry, who couldn't turn down a chance to part with the Nullificare Charm and decided that he would go.

"I guess I didn't really need the permission for Hogsmeade this year?" the Headmaster returned a small smile at the joke but didn't say anything else. "Erm… would it be possible… for Ron and Hermione to come as well?"

The Headmaster gave him a thoughtful look, "I believe Professor McGonagall has given approval for Miss Granger to go to with the other students this year. If she still wishes to go, she may do so. As for Mr. Weasley… I'm afraid I cannot overturn the Professor's decision..."

When Harry talked to Hermione he managed to convince her easily, but she had to quickly write to her parents for their permission. When he found out they were both leaving, Ron became quite moody. Alicia had made him a reserve Keeper, a fifth year named Cormac McLaggen was made the regular. Despite Harry having done nothing wrong, he still felt guilty for leaving his friend behind and in the end offered Ron something that finally made him smile for the first time that week.

"Your Nimbus Two Thousand?" Ron gaped at his friend.

Harry nodded, holding out the broom towards his friend. "I probably won't be needing it when I get to Durmstrang, so I might as well leave it here where it'll see some use."

It took longer than he'd like to admit to come to this decision. It wasn't as if Ron had never used it before, when he was staying with the Weasleys the whole family had taken turns with it, but he still felt reluctant to part with it for a whole year. But in the end he realised he would even endure the Nullificare Charm again rather than lose Ron as a friend.

"Thanks Harry..." Ron said sheepishly, gripping the Nimbus tightly. "I promise I'll take good care of it. And… good luck at Durmstrang."

And finally there was only one other person he had to talk to.

"So… yeah… I'm not going to be able to play..." Harry said apologetically, avoiding her eyes.

Alicia let out a groan of frustration. She looked like there was a lot she wanted to say, but Harry had told her everything about the Nullificare Charm, more than he ever told anyone who wasn't a close friend, and she couldn't find anything to say. "Okay, I guess it's not your fault… not really. Merlin, where are we going to find a Seeker as good as you…?"

* * *

Harry joined in the applause as the Great Hall erupted in cheers as the Headmaster announced the students that would be leaving for Durmstrang in the morning. Harry and Hermione were sitting with the rest of their house rather than with the rest of the candidates, since neither of them were planning to compete. Despite trying to keep it a secret, somehow the rest of the school managed to find out that Harry was going to be joining them. The fact that Hermione had managed to pass McGonagall's test, making her the youngest ever, had spread as well but she was going on her own merits and she could brush off the few muttered whispers calling her a know-it-all with pride. Harry on the other hand had to endure people either accusing him of favouritism or telling him that he had defeated Grindelwald when he was only a baby so he was sure to win the Tournament, which was worse Harry couldn't decide.

He had been feeling nervous all week, but felt better by the end of the meal when, like the last time, the candidates all took turns showcasing their skills. It ended with Fred and George, who not wanting to be outdone by the display from the Hogwarts Champion three years ago, left the whole Hall clutching their ears at the thunderous noise and squinting at the brilliant display of lights from the magically enhanced fireworks of the twins' own creation.

Harry woke up the next morning, his ears thankfully no longer ringing and his trunk gone from the room, presumably already packed onto the train sometime while he was sleeping. It was a Sunday and the others were still sleeping so he tried to be quiet putting on the clothes he had laid out the night before, but when he woke Ron, like he had promised the night before, the red haired boy let out an irritated groan that stirred the other boys.

There was still a few hours until they were going to leave, so Harry and Hermione spent the remaining time with their friends who they wouldn't be seeing for a very long time. Just before lunch they made their way to the grounds, where the Hogwarts Express was there and waiting for them, along with a small crowd of students. Remus and Hagrid were there and they gestured Harry over.

"You have the mirror packed, right?" Harry took out the repaired mirror and showed Remus. "Good. I know we'll be a long way away, but if you need to talk about anything, we'll be here for you."

"Thanks Remus, I'll keep in touch." Harry promised.

Hagrid handed over a small bag. "Here's some owl treats for Hedwig. It'll take her a while to get used to the weather over there and these should help her adjust."

"Thanks Hagrid!" Harry beamed.

"No need! No need!" Hagrid's beard twitched into a smile. "Just look after yourself out there. Where's Hermione? I have something for Crookshanks as well… Ah, there she is..."

As Hagrid made his way through the students towards Hermione, Harry turned to Remus again. "I can't believe I won't be back here for a whole year, I'm really going to miss this place..."

"I'm sure once you get there, the year will go by in a flash." Remus smiled at him. They turned around when they heard someone calling Harry's name. "You should say your goodbyes to your friends."

After several handshakes, hugs and sworn promises to write, Professor Riddle eventually started ushering them onto the train. Harry stepped inside, into the room he remembered from his first year. The large room that almost looked like a classroom, but looked as if a lot more effort had gone into furbishing it. Before he could properly appreciate it, he turned himself around and looked out the window, grinning at his friends standing outside.

The Headmaster gave them all a nod and tapped his wand on a small golden square on the wall of the room. Harry leaned out the window and caught sight of the tiny wings appear on the side of the train, before he was pulled back by an admonishing Hermione. Eventually, without even a jolt, Harry saw the Hogwarts grounds drop a few inches underneath the train. His friends were waving and shouting at him.

"Have fun, Harry! Hermione!"

"Don't forget to write!"

"Harry, don't worry about your Nimbus, I promise I'll take good care of it!"

"Bye!" Harry and Hermione, and all the other students around them, called back at their friends seeing them off.

"Here we go!" Professor Riddle said, with a quiet excitement in his voice.

There was a rush of wind on Harry's face and when he blinked his eyes open they were already high up in the air, the gathered crowd on the ground quickly shrinking. Fred and George Weasley gave a hooting cheer and set off a load of fireworks out the window and they heard far beneath them, a huge cheer as the train glided through the clouds, leaving Hogwarts behind.

* * *

 **A/N**

So~ that's happening. I've had to slow the pace down slightly for the fourth year, I hope you don't find it too boring! The next few chapters might seem a bit slow compared to the last three years', but since I decided to move the plot to Durmstrang for the year, I ended up having to introduce a new setting as well as quite a few new characters. I hope you won't find the whole thing too terrible, and I hope you'll stick with the story!

As always, I really appreciate all your reviews! I enjoy hearing from you, praise or criticism, so thank you!


	27. Year 4 - Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Институт Дурмстранг**

 _Harry and Hermione!_

 _I hear you two are going to be at Durmstrang this year. I'm sure you'll have a good time at my old school, but if you need someone to show you around or something (and I really think you'll need it), look up my niece Katrien, I told you about her last year, remember? She's heard a few things about you two from me as well (all good, I promise!) so don't be surprised if she knows you better than you expect. If you need anything, I'll just be an owl away. Gideon wishes you both well and I'm told Molly still expects you, Harry, to come by the Burrow at Christmas._

 _Have fun, both of you!_

 _Kasper_

* * *

They all spent a few minutes just quietly talking amongst themselves, while staring out the window. Hermione was the only one that had experienced anything similar before, as she had been on an aeroplane going on holidays with her parents, but even she was slightly breathless with wonder as they flew thousands of feet above the earth in a bright red train. The windows were still open, and even though there must have been a charm preventing most of the winds from blowing inside, everyone was sitting there looking like they were in the middle of a Quidditch match, with their hair and robes fluttering in all directions.

"All right, all of you, gather around please." Professor Riddle waited until they all moved away from the windows and, with a swish of his wand, they all closed with a click. He gave his hair a swipe to settle in down, earning a few chuckles from the students as they tried to do the same (Harry didn't bother trying) and addressed them with a smile. "This train is where you will be staying for the rest of the year, unless you decide to go back to Hogwarts, which I don't think anyone is planning to do. So I'll give you a quick tour of the place before we land. This room, as you can probably tell, is where you'll be studying and having your lessons with me..."

The twins let out a small groan but Harry looked around with interest, he had caught a glimpse of the room during his first year but the room was even more wonderful from inside. There were practice dummies, like the one he had tried to Disillusion in Professor McGonagall's classroom, a few shelves full of books and several large tables, all lined with quills, ink bottles and blank rolls of parchment ready to be used. The walls and floor looked were made from a sturdy looking aged wood, and the hanging banners and rugs favoured none of the houses, but were a chaotic mismatch of the colours and animals honouring all four of the founders. Despite this, very much like Hogwarts itself, it just felt _right_.

"I'll be speaking more about the lessons in a few days, but for now let's carry on with the rest of the tour..." Riddle grinned at the twins before turning around. They walked towards the centre of the room and climbed the flight of stairs located there, leading them up into a corridor with several doors that were closed shut. They quickly passed each one, while the Headmaster opened them one at a time with a flick of his wand. "...this room for brewing potions... this room we set up for those who want a bit of privacy while they study, it can get quite hectic downstairs… and this is the library, there are quite a few more books up here if you want to read up on more specialised subjects..."

Hermione gave a little squeak of excitement as she rushed inside. Professor Riddle chuckled and followed her through. Harry felt a slight headache as he tried to get his head around the fact that somehow this room seemed to be even bigger than the one downstairs… rows and rows of bookcases packed full, it barely looked smaller than the library they had at the castle itself. When the Professor urged them out to show them the rest of the train, Harry had to drag his friend out by the sleeve of her robes.

"I'm going to buy a magic train when I graduate from Hogwarts..." Hermione muttered, still in awe.

Harry laughed, he expected nothing less from Hermione. "We'll buy one together, get all our friends and travel the world together."

"That sounds brilliant." Hermione grinned.

They finished looking through the second floor, which seemed to have enough space for about a quarter of Hogwarts castle to be squashed inside and came back downstairs. They walked through a door to the next carriage, without even a hint of the shaky, precarious connection that Harry associated with trains. The room they found themselves in, seemed to have the feel of the Gryffindor common room, with it's comfortable chairs and a lit fireplace giving off a toasty warmth, although like the other room, it was a mix of various colours.

"Just a nice room to relax in." Professor Riddle explained simply. "You're welcome to invite anyone from the other school here, but for elsewhere you'll have to have my permission first. That door leads to my office, my quarters and the engine as well. I doubt I'll be in there much, but if there is an emergency during the night, that is where you will find me. Also, you're not allowed in the engine, so I don't want anyone sneaking around in there, understood?"

As the Professor pointed at a door on the opposite side of the room from where they were standing, Harry got the impression that Riddle's gaze lingered slightly longer on Fred and George than anyone else, who both put on an expression of complete innocence. The Headmaster snorted, half in amusement and half in exasperation before leading them to another flight of stairs. They got to the top and were standing in a middle of a corridor leading to either side.

"This is where you'll be sleeping. There are enough rooms that you could have a room each, but I find it's sometimes nice to have some company so far from home. So unless you're absolutely desperate to have your own room, pair up with someone." Harry looked around, catching Hermione's eyes, but the Headmaster added a second later. "Obviously, boys and girls won't be sharing a room together."

A girl let out a snort that turned into a giggle as Harry's head snapped away from Hermione, blushing furiously. _Obviously_ he couldn't share a room with his friend, he didn't even know why he looked at her. He watched as the students found their roommates, mostly within their own house it seemed. Fred and George, unsurprisingly, decided to share a room and Hermione hesitantly went over to Angelina who nodded with a smile. Two Ravenclaw girls, one of whom was still giggling, stood together as were two Slytherin boys. A third Slytherin, one Harry thought looked vaguely familiar went over to a Hufflepuff with a wide grin on his face.

That left only two more people, including Harry, and the other boy walked over with a smile. "Looks like it'll be the two of us then Harry, unless you want your own room?"

"I don't mind." Harry said feeling slightly relived. He didn't know anyone here all that well, other than the Gryffindors, and even though he had hardly ever talked to him, he had faced Cedric Diggory on the Quidditch pitch before, so at least there was a topic they could discuss without feeling awkward. "Unless you want to?"

Cedric shrugged. "I don't mind either, I guess it'll be like being in the dorms again."

The Headmaster took note of each of them, pausing at the Slytherin/Hufflepuff pair, giving them a stern look half filled with amusement as they returned a small grin. He shook his head before suddenly clapping his hands and there was a pop of noise, and Harry found himself staring at two of the strangest looking creatures he had ever seen. They had bat like ears and bulging eyes, and were wearing what seemed to be a tea towel like a toga, with the Hogwarts crest proudly displayed in the middle. One gave a deep bow and the other a curtsy before they stood up straight and squeaked, "Yes, Headmaster?"

"Thank you for coming." the Headmaster gave them a nod and handed them the little sheet of parchment he had written the names of the pairs of students on. He turned back to the students, none of whom showed any surprise other than Harry and Hermione. "These two house elves will be helping out for the duration of this trip, Dibbler will be looking after the boys and Cauliflower here will be looking after the girls, so call them if you need anything. If there's nothing else, they'll show you to your rooms now."

"Erm… Professor?" one of the Ravenclaw girls raised her hand. "Where do we eat?"

"Oh, you'll be having all your meals with the other students at Durmstrang, but Dibbler or Cauliflower will rustle up a snack if you ask them nicely enough." the two house elves nodded enthusiastically with a wide grin. "In fact, we'll be having a light lunch downstairs, so come back down after checking out your room."

Professor Riddle waited another moment in case anyone else had more questions, then he gave a nod at the house elves, who jumped up and led them down the corridors. Harry followed Dibbler, along with the other boys, until they arrived at the first door. Fred and George were leading the way, so Dibbler gestured them forwards then disappeared with a small pop.

"Erm… what's a house elf?" Harry quietly asked Cedric.

"Oh, they're… like servants..." Cedric explained with a slight look of uncertainty. "At Hogwarts, they're the ones that do all the cooking, cleaning and laundry, stuff like that."

"I didn't realise… I thought all that was done… magically or something." Harry frowned. "How come I've never seen one before?"

"Well, they're not meant to be seen..." Cedric said looking slightly embarrassed. "I mean, that's apparently the sign of a good house elf."

Before Harry could ask anything else, there was another pop from the other side of the door, which opened revealing Dibbler standing behind it.

"Come in sirs, come in!" the elf squeaked at Fred and George. After making sure he had brought all the twins' luggage, Dibbler came out and led the rest of the students down the corridor. Two by two they were shown their own rooms, until finally it was just Harry and Cedric left. After giving them a low bow and a brief stare at Harry's forehead, the elf disappeared again for a moment, before popping back behind the door.

At the elf's insistence they entered the room, which was quite spacious, despite it being for just two people. Harry could tell his side of the room as Hedwig was there in her cage next to the bed, giving them a hoot in greeting. There were a few more items of furniture. Wardrobes, tables and chairs but his attention was back on Dibbler, who opened a door to the side, showing them the bathroom, then told them that lunch would be served soon.

"Thank you." Harry said to the elf who squeaked excitedly before bowing so low, that his nose actually touched the floor.

"It was my pleasure sir, Mr. Harry Potter, sir!" he said, before popping away.

* * *

Harry was staring out of the window, just relaxing after their meal, while listening to Hermione talk, rather heatedly. "-aren't even paid! Can you believe that Harry? It's like they're… slaves or something! And not a single mention of them in the whole of _Hogwarts: A History_. Angelina says there are hundreds of them at Hogwarts and they aren't mentioned once!"

"Hmm… they seem pretty happy to me." Harry turned to his friend and said, trying to placate her, only to receive an irritated glare in return.

"That doesn't make it right!" she huffed. "Slaves, Harry! They're just brainwashed slav-"

There was a mutter of excitement from a few of the students sitting further along, all looking out the window. Harry turned back and saw the expansive ocean had finally given way to a snowcapped, mountainous landscape. "Hermione, look!"

She gave him a stubborn look, suggesting this wouldn't be the last time they discussed the matter of house elves, but for now she kept quiet and looked out the window. "We must be around Norway or something..."

They weaved in and out of clouds until the train looked as if it was gently resting on the white fluffy mass and above them a painfully clear blue sky. Hermione and Harry both took in a sharp breath of wonder and just gazed wordlessly out the window, in fact the whole room had gone into a peaceful silence. Sunlight faded rapidly as they hugged the coast and travelled further north. Underneath them they saw the few dim lights from small villages and towns, which became less frequent as they suddenly turned inland.

Lights flickered on inside the train and Professor Riddle suddenly spoke, making Harry jump slightly. "We will be arriving shortly. It might be a bit nippy outside, so I have left you all a few items of clothing inside the wardrobes in your rooms. It's much colder than Hogwarts, so I advise you bundle up tightly."

Hermione immediately stood and Harry followed her back upstairs. Back in his room, he found the sturdy wooden wardrobe next to his bed and he opened it. It was mostly empty, he supposed he was meant to empty his own trunk into here as long as he planned to stay. There was a scarf and some gloves, but what immediately caught his eye was a black, fur-lined cloak, with the Hogwarts emblem emblazoned on the front. He took it out, surprised at how light it was and, feeling slightly silly doing it, threw the cloak over his shoulders.

He waited for a moment, but frowned when he didn't feel any warmer than before. There was a full length mirror fitted to the inside of the wardrobe doors, so he stared at his reflection trying to decide if the cloak was too big for his body, when somebody said. "Looking good, but you should really do something about the hair."

"What?" Harry jumped and turned around. Cedric was there trying out his own cloak, while paying absolutely no attention to Harry.

"Did you say something?" Cedric asked.

"No… I… I thought I heard someone..." the voice didn't sound like Cedric, he was sure.

"Oh!" Cedric said in surprise, before turning to Harry with a grin. "It might have been your mirror, mine just told me… ehem… well… nevermind."

Harry shook his head, exasperated with himself for being so jumpy, he had encountered these before at the Weasley's. Harry tried to brush some of his hair down, even though he knew it was pointless. "That's it dear, hmm, not really working is it?"

They left the room together, Harry feeling slightly self conscious. Walking next to Cedric, the cloak definitely felt too big for him, making it almost feel like child that had draped a long blanket over his shoulders, playing a superhero. He felt better when he saw Hermione by the stairs.

"I think they were meant for older students..." Hermione muttered while they walked down the stairs. She had to lift up the hem of her cloak slightly, so she wouldn't trip over them and she cast a slightly jealous look at Angelina walking in front of them.

Back in the 'common room', Harry had decided to call it, the Headmaster gave them a look then he leaned over to the house elf that was placing a cup of tea on the table in front of him. He nodded towards Harry and Hermione and the house elf rushed over to them.

"Oh dear, oh dear…" the small creature muttered as a pair of scissors popped into it's hands and began working it's way around the bottom of Hermione's cloak.

"Thank you Cauliflower." Hermione said brightly.

The house elf gave her a brief glance before she started moving the scissors again. "No need to thank old Cauliflower, young miss. Just doing her job, she is..."

"Well, we're still thankful, aren't we Harry?" she gave Harry a pointed look.

"Erm, yeah of course-" then Harry noticed, just behind the house elf's right ear, a small floret of the vegetable she shared a name with and had to suppress a giggle, "Cuf- I mean Cauliflower..."

Hermione glared at him and Cauliflower gave him a suspicious look before muttering slightly and returning to her work. After a bit more cutting and some magic from the elf, Harry and Hermione looked at each other, nodding in satisfaction, it fitted them much better now. Hermione turned to thank the house elf again, but she was already half way across the room.

"Brainwashed..." she muttered as she shook her head.

They were back by the windows, staring down at the mountains trying to be the first one to catch a glimpse of their destination, but they caught sight of something else first. Just barely visible in the dimness of twilight, they saw a carriage, pulled by a dozen winged horses, gliding through the air next to the train.

"That must be the group from Beauxbatons..." someone behind Harry said thoughtfully.

Harry squinted and he could just about make out a few faces looking out of the carriage, much like the Hogwarts students were doing, but their heads seemed so _small_.

"They look so young!" Hermione said quietly. A few of the older students around them gave a slight chuckle but didn't say anything else.

There was a flash of green light coming from somewhere near the front of the train, then either the train slowed down or the carriage sped up as it shot forwards. Harry followed it with his eyes for a few minutes, but when he blinked, it had vanished completely.

Harry turned to say something, but the Headmaster interrupted him. "Almost there now, you should be able see the castle in a few minutes..."

They were near the peak of a mountain, but it was completely dark, no sign of anyone living here as far as they could see. Then Harry felt a slight tingling on his skin and he had to close his eyes for a moment as light suddenly illuminated the top of the mountain. He blinked a couple of times his mouth dropped open at the scene before him.

The jagged peak had vanished to be replaced by a wide and flat stretch of land on the top of the mountain, Harry would have guessed it hadn't occurred naturally, he had never seen any mountain top look like that. A large part of it was covered in a lake, which was illuminating various shades of green, with tints of red, blue and yellow. Starting at the edge of the lake was a forest that stretched down the mountain, but in the darkness of impending night, it was impossible to tell where it ended. Right in the middle of this vast mountain top lake, was an island with it's edged completely surrounded by a high wall and at the centre stood the castle. Harry's immediate thought was how different it seemed from Hogwarts, despite the lake and the forest. Hogwarts was slightly chaotic with the rather confusing layout of the buildings and the towers and spires scattered almost randomly throughout the whole structure. According to Hermione and her trusted books, the school had started out much smaller, but wings and corridors were added every now and again, and centuries later had become the castle that Harry was used to. Durmstrang was nothing like that, it was an almost completely square building with four huge towers rising from each of the corners in a very orderly fashion, visible in the dark due to some kind of balls of light surrounding it. It was exactly the kind of image Harry's mind conjured up when he heard the word 'castle'. Harry thought that even if an army had somehow managed to climb the sky-high mountains, cross the vast lake by the very narrow looking bridge and finally get pass the walls that surrounded the whole island, they would still have great trouble getting into the castle itself.

As the train slowly descended, Harry saw a mass of people gathered in front of the castle but before he could take notice of anything else there was a hand on his shoulder, "Harry, may I speak with you for a second?"

Harry nodded at the Headmaster's whispered question and quietly moved away from the windows. "Professor Riddle?"

"I just thought I might warn you..." the Headmaster's frowned slightly. "Do you remember what I said… what Kendra Dumbledore said in my office last year?"

"Uh… About her father?" Harry could remember them mentioning the old wizard and not much else, other than the issue with the Charm.

Professor Riddle shook his head. "No… I mean, what we said about… what kind of reaction you might receive from our European neighbours."

"Oh yeah..." Harry vaguely remembered.

"They are going to be excited to see you and I know you're probably not going to enjoy it very much." Professor Riddle said calmly, but Harry was starting to feel slightly tense. "But once they get over the initial excitement, things will probably settle down."

"I..." Harry stammered. "Is there something I should do? Is there something I _shouldn't_ do?"

"You don't need to do anything other than be yourself." Harry relaxed at the Headmaster's smile. There was a slight jolt and the rumbling of the train's engine died down. "Looks like we've arrived..."

Everyone lined up by the exit, making sure they were all presentable. After a quick look over everyone, Professor Riddle gave them all an encouraging nod before stepping outside. The students followed him out, one by one, each giving a small gasp as they left the train. Harry understood why, because as soon as he stepped onto the ground he was hit with a violently cold wind, making him shiver for half a second then suddenly he felt almost unbearably hot. Just as quickly the temperature seemed to drop again, this time a much more comfortable warmth, almost like how it was inside the train, it seemed the cloak was actually working.

Harry stood next to Hermione, behind all the other Hogwarts students, hoping to avoid whatever it was the Headmaster had warned him about. The Durmstrang students were lined up in front of them with robes of a deep blood red, looking extremely intimidating with their faces half hidden in shadows. Then he heard it, someone muttered quite loudly "Harry Potter." That in turn opened the floodgates to more excited whispers, a few students breaking out of line to get a better look, one who was stuck at the back used his or her friend's shoulder to leap into the air. He just kept telling himself, they were students, just like him and there was nothing to worry about.

But still, he couldn't fight the blush creeping up the back of his neck and onto his face. It would have been fine if it ended like that, but Fred and George, who were standing in front of him, turned around and gave him a mischievous grin.

"What- Wh-" Harry yelped in panic as the twins lifted him up and hoisted him up onto their shoulders.

"HARRY POTTER!" the twins declared in a loud bellowing voice that seemed to echo in the ensuing silence. Harry heard the Headmaster give a strangled groan of exasperation before a huge cheer came from the Durmstrang students, who started chanting his name over and over again.

Harry had never felt a stronger urge to take out his wand and curse the twins on the spot, but he couldn't move. His face was redder than the twins' hair and he had an expression of terror that he tried to change to a grin (Hermione later told him that he looked like he had been forced to drink poison, courtesy of Snape).

The noise died down as someone stepped out from the crowd. She was short and round, but despite her slightly hunched back and ancient demeanour, her stance commanded respect, much like Professor Riddle or Professor Dumbledore did. As her face entered the light, Harry saw that her face was covered in thick wrinkles that completely covered certain features of her face.

She shifted her eyebrows upwards, revealing a single beady looking, pale blue eye, that turned it's attention first to Harry and then the twins. Fred and George flinched under the scrutiny and quickly put Harry down, who gave them a quick glare before turning back to the witch. She was still staring at them when she opened her mouth and said in a thick and gravely Scandinavian accent, "Looks like you've brought a couple of troublemakers to my school, Riddle."

"Headmistress Edda, it is a pleasure to see you again." Professor Riddle smoothly glossed over her remark, but quickly shot the twins a look of warning.

"A pleasure indeed." she looked straight into Professor Riddle's eyes. "Still speaking to snakes, are you?"

Her tone was light, but there was a slight hint of hostility that made Harry shift nervously where he stood. Professor Riddle met her gaze and just smiled back at her, "Yes, I still speak to snakes and I'll still be speaking to snakes when you ask me again in another three years' time."

The Headmistress of Durmstrang let out a cackle that raised the hair on the back of Harry's neck. Even if he had never discovered the whole world of magic, he would have still been convinced that this person standing in front of them was a witch. "Good, good. Ah, Headmistress Maxime welcome again..."

Harry followed the witches gaze to the side, then up and his jaw dropped open, until a quick nudge to his side by Hermione clamped his mouth shut. He quickly turned his head to look at the carriage that had brought the students from Beauxbatons and finally realised why the others had been amused at Hermione's comment. It wasn't that the students were young, but that the carriage, the horses and the woman standing with the other two heads of school were all _huge_.

"Professor Riddle, Professor Edda." she giant woman greeted them in a lilting French accent before shivered, closing her cloak around herself. "Perhaps… we should move this inside? The air is quite… chilly."

"Yes, of course." the Headmistress of Durmstrang said pleasantly before turning to the crowd, then she started barking out orders in a language Harry didn't recognise. Several figures started moving towards the carriage and the giant winged horses. She turned back and said smoothly, in her gravely voice, "This way, ladies and gentlemen..."

As the three Heads moved towards the gathered Durmstrang students, they parted down the middle, allowing for the Professors, as well as the delegation of students from Hogwarts and Beauxbatons to pass through. Harry could see the three Professor were discussing something, but couldn't hear what, since curious and no-longer whispered talking broke out all around them. Harry stared straight ahead walking besides Hermione, who gave him a look of sympathy, and continued towards the keep, the large structure they had seen from the skies. He saw the faint outlines of several smaller structures, but they were hidden in shadows, it appeared that they were trying to keep everyone's attention on the most impressive building within the walls by having orbs of fire gently bob up and down near the building. Unlike the pale greyish white of Hogwart's walls, these were a dark grey, almost black, giving it another slightly intimidating edge. Headmistress Edda opened the large wooden doors with a lazy flick of her wand and led them inside.

The students found themselves being looked down upon, by a twenty foot high stone statue of a witch, face stern and wand pointing almost threateningly at the visitors from the other schools. Behind her, fluttering lightly from the breeze, was a huge cloth banner depicting… it was either two birds squashed together or a bird with two heads and above it writing in a strange alphabet. Hermione poked Harry and whispered, "That must be Nerida Vulchanova… the founder and first Headmistress of Durmstrang Institute..."

A few Hogwarts students heard her remark and all raised an eyebrow, and Harry voiced what they were all thinking, "How on earth do you know that?"

"I read about it of course. I thought it might be a good idea to learn about the place we were visiting, didn't you?" she stared back at the other candidates for Hogwarts' Champion, most of them just shrugged. Hermione muttered something under her breath before blushing and lowering her head, the three Professor walking in front of them were all staring at her, Riddle with a faint smile of pride and the other two with a look of appraisal.

"I don't even know who the first Headmaster of Hogwarts is..." Harry muttered quietly to Hermione, causing several around them to snort with stifled laughter.

Hermione gave him a small grin, "I keep telling you, you need to read _Hogwarts: A History_..."

They walked down a short corridor in silence, before stepping through another set of impressive looking wooden doors, into a huge room brightly lit with torches. There were several long tables set out with gleaming silver plates, bowls and goblets laid upon them, although empty at the moment. Harry unconsciously raised his head towards the ceiling but found it disappointingly ordinary. The group took a seat in the middle of the room, while the Professor moved to the front of the Hall, where several older witches and wizards greeted them with polite nods and waves.

Harry looked around the rest of the room as Durmstrang's own students started to enter and he felt a hint of pride at the fact that the Great Hall at Hogwarts was much more impressive, with it's enchanted ceiling, it's gold plates instead of silver and the walls that… didn't move?

Harry squinted at the walls, gasping in surprise when he realised that the walls were covered in tapestries, no, it was a _single_ tapestry that wound itself around the room, covering the walls from floor to ceiling. He couldn't really make out much of the detail from this distance, but he presumed that like portraits and photos, it wouldn't be impossible to enchant whatever was depicted on the fabric to move as well. Harry turned around to look at the doorway they came through, just as the final few students hurried in. The doors closed shut with a soft thud and Harry saw the edge of the tapestry that almost seemed to melt into the side of the doors. There was a faint fluttering of motion, almost as if there was a slight breeze in the air. Harry blinked once, then he had to blink again just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. The solid wooden doors were gone and instead was the unmistakeably two dimensional image of the door that rested on the spot, on the tapestry that now completely surrounded the whole Hall. Harry turned to Hermione, who had a similar expression of wonder on her face, it seemed whatever book she had read to find out about the origins of Durmstrang, it hadn't mentioned this.

An instant silence fell over the Hall and Harry turned to the front, where the Headmistress of Durmstrang stood, inclining her head towards the two scattered groups of Hogwarts' and Beauxbatons' students. "Hail, guests, and welcome to Durmstrang Institute. Let our walls shelter you from the wind and the fires melt the ice from your bones. There will be a time for competition, but for now, share with us our food and our warming drinks. Today there are no rivals, only kindred spirits."

And with a sharp bang from her wand there was a roaring cheer and the good natured stamping of fists on the tables from the Durmstrang students as food appeared in front of them. There were steaming bowls of hearty stews, huge hunks of sizzling meats, a selection of sausages, mounds of vegetables, piles of various shaped breads and what looked like miniature lobsters. Harry determinedly ignored the curious stares of the Durmstrang students and fiddled around with one of the bright red crustaceans (when on earth what he ever going to get a chance to try one?), but gave up after a tiny piece of shell flew across the table.

He wasn't too much of a fussy eater, so he tried a bit of everything but avoided the raw looking slices of fish that Hermione insisted tasted very nice. He filled up on the roast meats, which he thought was similar to beef but couldn't confidently identify. It seemed to be lightly seasoned with some sort of herb or spice and Harry enjoyed it very much alongside mashed potatoes and a sharp and slightly sweet red sauce. The savoury dishes were soon replaced by an assortment of sweet cakes, delicate cream filled pastries and bowls of stewed apples with the aroma of delicate spices wafting towards Harry, making his mouth water despite already having eaten until he was almost full.

He still picked at a few dishes while chatting to Hermione about how much Ron would have enjoyed trying out some of these and wondering if they should try and sneak some away to send his way with Hedwig. Just before the food disappeared, Hermione quickly took a few cakes and wrapped them around a napkin before carefully placing it in her robes. Everyone's attention once again turned to the elderly witch that was standing in the front of the hall.

"The Triwizard Tournament officially starts at midnight, but I will be explaining the procedure for those that do not know. Headmistress Olympe Maxime and Headmaster Tom Riddle most of you will already know..." she spoke carefully in her scratchy voice as she used her hands to gesture to the people sitting either side of her. Then she turned turned her hand further along the table, "We also have staying with us, from the European Ministry, the High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Bartemius Crouch and the Committee for the Triwizard Tournament, led by Mr. Mentor Metaxas."

The Hall clapped politely at the Professors and the people from the Ministry. Crouch, a severe looking wizard with grey hair and a toothbrush moustache, simply stared on ahead without much acknowledgement, but the group from the Committee for the Triwizard Tournament, including Metaxas, all gave the Hall a cheerful wave, but Harry got the impression that they all looked pretty exhausted. Headmistress Edda took a brief moment to take out a pocketwatch from her robes, frowning slightly as she looked into it. She looked back up and Harry thought he saw her smile slightly. He heard footsteps as the applause died down and he turned around to face the door again. "Ah and finally we have the representatives from the three countries the schools are located-"

Headmistress Edda continued talking, but Harry didn't hear the rest. He sudden felt his heart beat faster and his hands rolled into white knuckled fists under the table, shaking as he felt a cold sweat on his back. Anything that happened before he took the Nullificare Charm off on the first day of school he tried to push back, forget about and hopefully avoid having to deal with until the next summer. He quickly turned away from the entrance and hunched down, making himself look small and trying to avoid anyone noticing him. Harry turned extremely pale, his breathing slightly erratic, as two wizards and a witch walked towards the front of the Hall. Perhaps if he had taken time to actually process his nightmares from his summer when he could think coherently again, he would have realised that he actually felt a mind numbing terror concerning the wizard who's robes were barely an inch away from Harry's as he walked pass him. He might have realised that at this moment, more than Erisian Spirits, werewolves or even Grindelwald and all his followers, Albus Dumbledore was the one person that scared him more than anything else in the world.

* * *

 **A/N**

Right, first of all, I hope you aren't too disappointed in my imagining of Durmstrang. It's slightly different compared to what little was revealed in the canon sources, but it's how I imagined it when I started writing this story.

Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you very much for all the reviews! Even after writing for months now, with so many people following and favoriting it, I still can't believe that you're all enjoying it so much. Even after getting so many positive reviews, I still get terrified after I post a new chapter, wondering if I messed up somehow and it will chase people away.

I'm trying my best and I will not abandon this story! I'm already plotting out details as far ahead as the final year, so I have plenty to write about! Your reviews really help me keep going (even though I just admitted I'll keep writing anyway =p).

And another quick thanks to the two guest reviewers, I'm glad you enjoyed it and I promise I'll try my best to not disappoint you! =)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope to see you back here next week!


	28. Year 4 - Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **From the Flames**

 _Harry!_

 _I told you I wanted to send you something_ _and_ _here it is! It's a Sneakoscope! It's a dark detector that lights up and whistles when there'_ _s_ _someone doing something untrustworthy nearby. I know Professor Riddle_ _ **should**_ _be able to protect you and I'm sure_ _ **most**_ _of the Durmstrang students and staff won't be wishing you_ _any_ _harm, but there's nothing wrong with_ _taking precautions._

"Erm..." Harry picked up the gift and gave it a little shake, testing it's weight. It was about the size of a watermelon. "Am I supposed to carry this thing around with me all the time?"

Hermione snorted. "I'm sure you'll be fine without it..."

 _I've tested it before sending it off but you should make sure it didn't break mid journey. Just have someone do something…_

Harry frowned. "Hermione, can you try and do something… untrustworthy?"

"Okay..." Harry just stared at the Sneakoscope without looking behind him to see what Hermione was doing. "Have you-"

Harry nearly dropped the Sneakoscope and he felt the urge to block his ears. Hermione's shriek was barely audible over the 'whistle' that really sounded more like a shouted over the noise, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The noise died down and Harry dropped the Sneakoscope onto the desk, "Hermione, what on Earth did you do?"

"I… I just put one of your books into my pocket..." Hermione said shakily.

 _...right? If it's broken, well, just get your mirror out and we'll talk. If it isn't we'll talk anyway! I expect heaps of gratitude!_

 _Speak to you soon._

 _Sirius_

* * *

Harry couldn't really remember much of Professor Edda's words about the Triwizard Tournament, nor the trip out of the Hall through the tapestry that he had been very curious to see up close only a few hours ago. He followed the older students leading the way, who were all enthusiastically discussing what they had just learned about the Tournament and the fact that some sort of celebrity (Harry didn't hear the name) was apparently attending the school. Only Hermione seemed to find something off with Harry, but he tightened the cloak around his body and told her he was just feeling a bit tired and that the weather certainly wasn't making things better. A harsh wind tore through their little group just then, making half of them shriek in surprise despite their enchanted cloaks. Hermione muttered while she tried to brush off her hair that had covered her face and Harry made a joke about missing the weather in Scotland, that got a little laugh around him and also managed to make his friend forget her previous question.

Harry and Hermione politely declined an offer of hot cocoa from Dibbler, said good night to the others and they both went straight back to their rooms. Harry took a warm shower then collapsed onto his bed. He hadn't actually lied to Hermione, he was feeling exhausted, but he had trouble falling asleep. He was still awake an hour later, when Cedric came into the room and it was another hour after that that he finally managed to drift off into a restless sleep.

When he woke up in the morning it was still slightly dark and even though he didn't have any dreams, not ones he could remember anyway, he still felt as if he had slept terribly. He gave up trying to go back to sleep and quietly crept into the bathroom and splashed cold water onto his face before dressing and going downstairs.

He was surprised to find that he wasn't the first one there. "Hi Sylvia and erm… Blueb-"

"Blue's fine." the young witch cut him off.

The other Ravenclaw giggled softly. "Why? Bluebell's such an _adorable_ name."

Blue sent a scowl towards her friend before facing Harry again. "Couldn't sleep well?"

"Something like that..." Harry said vaguely. "Looks like you've been busy already."

The two Ravenclaw girls were sitting with a pile of books on their table, with two steaming mugs more than an arm's distance away from either of them, probably in case they accidentally dripped anything onto the books. Sylvia stretched back with a slight groan, "Well, we have no idea how the Goblet decides the Champion, but we thought it wouldn't hurt to cram in one or two more spells before entering our names."

"I won't bother you then." Harry said with a small smile, they reminded him very much of Hermione.

He plopped down onto an armchair by the fire and within seconds there was a small pop next to him. "Mr. Potter! Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Oh! Erm… sure. Thanks, Dibbler." the house elf beamed at him before disappearing with another pop. He was back in less than a minute holding a steaming cup of milky white tea. Harry took a grateful sip and leaned back, half closing his eyes. There was the sound of a door opening and footsteps.

He heard Professor Riddle talking softly to the two Ravenclaw girls before making his way over to him. "Good morning, Harry. How are you?"

"I'm… a bit tired actually." Harry mumbled. "Had a bit of trouble getting to sleep… It's my first time out of the country so I think I was a bit excited..."

The Headmaster didn't look convinced but gave him a smile. "If you need anything, or have anything you want to talk about, you can always come to me. You know that right?"

Harry nodded but didn't say anything else. Riddle hesitated briefly but left Harry when the other students started coming downstairs. Soon everyone was gathered and they made their way back to the castle as a group. Their feet scraped against the frosted grass as they crossed the grounds bathed in a dim morning light. Harry could now see much more of the buildings that were obscured in the darkness last night, there were several short wooden structures surrounding the keep although he couldn't really tell what was inside. He could guess the purpose of one of them, which two wizards were levitating several barrels towards, when a huge head of a horse popped out of the building, sniffing the air.

In the distance there were a few students that were gathered, seemingly working on making or building something with long pieces of wood and something black. Harry pointed it out to Hermione, "Do you think it's decorations for Halloween or something?"

She squinted at the Durmstrang students running around, "Hmm… I'm not sure… I thought they didn't really do Halloween around here..."

Back at the Hall, Harry and Hermione stood back with the Headmaster as the others each put a piece of parchment with their name on it into the Goblet of Fire, which was placed in the middle of the Hall.

"Are you sure you don't want to put your name in?" Harry asked with a grin.

Hermione bit her lips as if seriously considering the question. "No… I talked to Angelina a bit yesterday, there are definitely things that she knows that we haven't even begun to cover in any of our classes…"

While the Headmaster made his way towards the other members of staff, where thankfully Albus Dumbledore wasn't present, the others sat down at an unoccupied table. Harry helped himself to eggs, bacon and toast and a tiny sip of what turned out to be bitter coffee that he immediately spat back into his cup. Harry listened while the others discussed what kind of tasks the Champions might be given and even though they all knew that only one of them would be representing Hogwarts, they were generally friendly with each other. There were a few heatless quips between members of the house Quidditch teams, especially between Adrian Pucey, who played for Slytherin, and the Weasley twins, but it was harmless enough and had everyone laughing quietly.

"So..." Fred turned to Harry and Hermione. "As two… impartial observers, who do you think is going to make Champion."

Harry shook his head with a grin, "I am _not_ answering that."

"Hmm..." George sighed dramatically, "So you don't think it'll be a Gryffindor then..."

"I..I didn't say that!" Harry sputtered.

"Well, the last Champion was a Ravenclaw..." Hermione said thoughtfully. When she had come downstairs to the 'common room', she had nodded with approval when she say the two girls with their heads stuck in their books.

"Both of you? Betrayed by our own!" Fred clutched his chest as if stabbed and collapsed onto the table, causing everyone to snort with laughter. Harry and the others were taking time with their breakfast, but it seemed their hosts didn't have the luxury and they were all hurrying to get to their morning classes. Last night Harry had thought that the only way in or out of this room had been the doorway that they had used, but looking now it wasn't the case. All around the Hall, various parts of the wall were shifting between fabric and solid wood to allow the students and members of staff passage.

There were a few Durmstrang students that walked by the seats occupied by Harry and the others and they all gave their group a "Hello." or "Good morning." in varying degrees of accentedness, with quite a few being directed towards just Harry. He mumbled back a few greetings and shot a glare towards Fred and George, who were both giving him a grin suggesting they were about to do something that would probably embarrass Harry.

Thankfully, Professor Riddle turned up before they could do whatever they were planning. "Harry, Hermione, since you won't be chosen as Champions, I want to spend this morning going over your lesson plans. It's been a while since I've looked at the fourth year curriculum... So I'll see you two back on the train in ten minutes? The rest of you can have the morning off, but remember that for Durmstrang it's lessons as normal so don't go around disturbing them."

Hermione hurried to finish the rest of her food, while Harry waited for her and they said goodbyes to the others before leaving the Hall. They both slowed down slightly as they neared the tapestry, they both had been wanting a closer look since last night, but eventually dragged themselves away to meet the Headmaster.

They found him in the 'classroom' carriage (as opposed to the 'common room' and 'dormitory' carriage), where he was looking through several rolls of parchment with a slight frown on his face.

"Erm… Professor Riddle?" Hermione called hesitantly.

"Come in and have a seat." the frown vanished as he raised his head towards them them. He turned back to the parchment for a moment, "Alright, so. Harry… Divination and Care of Magical Creatures? And Hermione… for you it's… everything other than Divination and Muggle Studies?"

"Sorry..." Hermione blurted out quietly.

"No, no. No need to be sorry." Riddle said quickly. "For the most part, we'll be able to carry out our lessons from here without much of an issue. The only real problem is with Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures and this will affect you more than the others, since the O.W.L.s deal quite a lot to species native to Britain so it will be difficult to arrange practical lessons here. Although I might be able to try and find similar magical plants and animals you could work with, I think it might end up being a lot of book learning with a bit of brushing up the more practical side when you return to Hogwarts next year. The other issue is… Divination… I'm afraid I'm not that familiar with the subject matter and they don't teach it here either so I'm not really sure what to do..."

"I… wouldn't object to leaving Divinations for a year." Harry honestly didn't enjoy the subject much. He had only taken the subject because Ron had done so and to be honest, every time he left the classroom he had felt that it was a bit of a waste of time.

"Professor McGonagall would hex me if she found out that you were doing any less than what you would have done back at Hogwarts, but since it's Divination..." Professor Riddle laughed but shook his head. "No. I think I'll discuss it with Professor Parnassos and see what we can come up with. We'll concentrate on your other subject until then."

They spent the next hour planning their lessons for the next week, the Professor wasn't too sure of his own schedule for the rest of the year so he couldn't set them a permanent timetable yet. He also set them their first piece of homework, which was simply to read through the first few chapters of each of their textbooks. Hermione nodded with determination, even though Harry was positive she had already gone through every single one of her books as soon as she had bought them from Diagon Alley.

He let them leave afterwards, while he carried on with more paperwork, so they made their way back to the Hall. There were no Durmstrang students, but a few from Beauxbatons were scattered around looking at the tapestry, as were the two Ravenclaw students from Harry's own school. Harry and Hermione made their way towards them and found them talking quietly.

"No, no, no… I think it's..." Blue huffed and moved her hand through her hair in frustration.

"Uruz? I think… ugh... Mæla… I think that's right… Mæla English? No?" Sylvia asked tentatively.

"What are you doing?" Harry's question caused the two girls to jump and turn around, looking quite embarrassed.

Blue waved a hand towards the tapestry behind her, "We're trying to communicate with them..."

The 'them' she was referring to turned out to be several geometric shapes, vaguely resembling human beings about the size of Harry's hand, in a courtyard of a place that looked a bit like Durmstrang Castle. Looking around, Harry saw that every inch of the wall had been woven with some sort of detail, landscapes, people, a variety of objects and several magical creatures that all moved about freely while casting glances towards the people outside the tapestry. Looking closely Harry soon realised that even though the whole thing was all connected, there was quite a lot of differing styles of the things and people depicted. A little apart from the group of blocky people, was a scene in a forest, where there was a crudely woven four legged creature running around and high above, near the ceiling, was a dragon, so intricately woven that Harry thought it couldn't have possibly been done with just a needle and thread.

"Hermione." Blue said towards the tapestry, while pointing at the bushy haired girl. Then she pointed at Harry. "Harry. Harry Potter."

There was a rush of movement at the mention of Harry's name and above the figures, miniscule writing suddenly appeared, not in English but not all in the same language either. Harry recognised something as Ancient Runes as well a few letters he thought he remembered from the Old English Ravenclaw's memories from his second year. Even though he didn't have a clue as to what most of them were saying, he could tell that his name was being repeated quite often.

"Wait, slow down!" Sylvia said, squinting at the writing, which was popping in and out of the tapestry quite rapidly. She sighed and turned to Harry and Hermione, "I don't suppose either of you can read any of those languages fluently?"

Harry quickly shook his head and Hermione stared at the writing for a moment before saying, "No, I recognise some of the runes, but I have no idea what the words are supposed to mean… Mæla? What language is that?"

"Old Norse..." Sylvia sighed in annoyance. "I should have brushed up on it a bit more before coming here..."

The blocky people turned away from Harry and the others and hunched together, discussing something privately. Harry snorted in amusement since whatever they were discussing was appearing above them in the same writing as before, not that they could understand any of it.

Harry turned away from the tiny writing and asked, "Where's everyone else gone?"

"Oh, they've gone to explore the rest of the keep..." Sylvia muttered distractedly, before raising her voice towards the tapestry. "Are you sure there's no one that can speak English?"

Interesting as it was, Harry was eager to explore the rest of the castle and at Harry's pleading look, Hermione reluctantly left the two Ravenclaw girls to continue questioning the people on the wall and they made their way through the tapestry-turned-wooden-door that the others had gone through. They walked down a series of windowless corridors, barely lit with a few torches. At the start they could hear the muffled voices of classes from behind a few of the closed doors, but eventually they found themselves in a seemingly empty part of the castle.

"We're lost… aren't we?" Hermione whispered shakily.

"No, we'll just-" Harry turned around to find that the door they had just walked through had disappeared. "Right… we'll just ask someone how to get back then..."

They both muttered a quiet " _lumos_ ", and slowly walked forwards, checking behind each door they came across. Unfortunately they were all either locked or empty and they had yet to come across a single person. They turned a corner and they were facing a dead end.

Harry groaned and was about to turn back around when Hermione stopped him, "Wait, look at that..."

In the middle of the wall was an embroidered patch, about the size of a small book and barely visible as it's greyish material blended in so well against the walls. Squinting closely, Harry managed to make out a person, little more than a stick figure, sitting on a stool, turning it's head to watch as the two students approached.

"Oh dear… I don't think this one speaks English either..." Hermione leaned closer, until her head was an inch away from the wall and she stared at the barely legible writing that started to appear when she asked for help. "H...J...L...P...A… Hjlpa? Does that mean help? Yes, we need hjlpa! Hjlpa!"

"Thank Merlin you took Ancient Runes..." Harry whispered only to have Hermione quickly hush him as more writing started to appear.

"S...Ei.. no that has a bit at the bottom… erm… L…E...two P's and a A?" Harry, what do you think... 'sleppa' mea-" as Hermione said the word out loud that patch of cloth on the wall started to flutter and widen and they suddenly found themselves turning their heads with squinting eyes, as light suddenly flooded the corridor. There was an opening in the wall, with sunlight coming through. Harry and Hermione both laughed in relief before rushing forwards, where they saw the clear blue sky above and below it… nothing. Apart from grass, a few boulders and the edges of a forest. There were no buildings, no walls, no signs of any mountain top lakes.

"Hermione… could you please look behind us and tell me that the door we came through is still there?" Harry glanced at Hermione, who spun around then went pale with a small gasp.

"Sleppa! Sleppa!" Hermione repeated the word that had brought them there, but the opening had disappeared and in it's place a part of a ruined stone wall, about knee height that would have been barely visible unless they were standing right next to it.

After attempting a few spells that did absolutely nothing to the wall (and even giving it a few kicks), they decided to slowly make their way up the slope, hoping that they had somehow managed to leave the castle and come out somewhere further down the mountain. They didn't dare go into the woods, even walking this close to it seemed to send a shiver down Harry's spine that had nothing to do with the cold. By the time the slope levelled out, they were both completely out of breath, but they let out a small cheer as they saw the lake and the castle standing in it's centre.

They broke into a run and crossed the wooden bridge that creaked softly underneath their steps, but slowed down soon enough when they realised they wouldn't be able to keep the pace all the way. But before they were halfway across, the imposing gates on the other side slowly opened and several figures came darting outside, Harry recognised the Headmaster immediately.

"Where in Merlin's name have you two been!" Harry almost wanted to laugh, he didn't think he'd ever seen Professor Riddle look this flustered.

Biting back the grin forming from the sense of relief, he slowly started to explain. "No… We… got lost… asked… thing… hanging on wall… for help… let us out… down there..."

Harry took great gulps of breath as he pointed down the mountain where they had climbed up from. Hermione looked green, but firmly nodded in agreement without saying anything.

"It sounds as if they managed to find one of the secret escape routes out of the castle..." said the mildly amused voice of Professor Edda.

"Yes… well, you're not hurt are you?" Riddle looked over them with worry.

"We're fine Professor, just a little out a breath." Hermione gave him a weak smile.

"I'll call off the Aurors then, shall I?" Harry paled slightly and shared a guilty look with Hermione at the Headmistress' words, who still seemed to be finding the whole situation funny.

"Yes, that's probably a good idea." Professor Riddle sighed.

* * *

The Headmaster escorted the back to the train then left again, muttering about preventing an international incident. They had missed lunch in the castle, but the two house elves were more than happy to provide them with food while the others from their school asked them what had happened to them. It seemed when no one could find any sign of Harry and Hermione, the students were confined to the train and questioned by Aurors who were brought in within minutes of Professor Riddle raising the alarm.

Between mouthfuls of food, Harry and Hermione explained what had happened and although a few of them were annoyed at the accusations thrown at them by the Aurors, most of them seemed to find it amusing, Fred and George most of all. "Brilliant! I can't believe you managed to find something like that before us!"

"We didn't mean to! We just got a bit… lost." Hermione insisted.

"We thought it might have been something like that." Cedric said with a grin. "We couldn't find out way back either and we had to ask someone for help."

"Was there anything down there? A village like Hogsmeade maybe?" Pat, short for Patroclus, the Slytherin asked with curiosity.

Harry shook his head. "Nothing at all. I don't think there's anyone living nearby."

"So… where is it? The secret passageway?" Fred rolled his eyes when Harry and Hermione shared a look. "Oh come on! You have to tell us!"

"No, they absolutely do not have to tell you anything." Professor Riddle said in a stern voice as he walked into the carriage. "Well the Aurors are gone now, so you're welcome to leave the train if you want."

Fred and George leapt out of their seats with a cheer and ran outside, Angelina followed them with a little more restraint but the others just settled down around the room, talking quietly or reading, leaving the two fourth years alone with the Headmaster.

Hermione looked at the Professor guiltily. "Are… are we in trouble, Professor?"

"No… just… I know you're old enough not to need babysitters, but maybe we'll get someone to show you around before you two go off exploring on your own." the Professor gave them a weak smile.

"Yes Professor Riddle." they both said, feeling relieved.

"One other thing..." Riddle hesitated. "Have you seen the thing they're setting up on the other side of the castle?"

"Oh, yeah… I mean yes, Professor. I though they they were for Halloween or something?" Harry wondered.

"No, they're not." the Headmaster shook his head, his expression one of distaste. "It's something to celebrate Grindelwald's downfall."

"Oh… what do they do?" Harry asked nervously.

"They… burn an effigy of him… It's a tradition the students started, one the Headmistress didn't put a stop to." Riddle shook his head and let out a sigh. "I don't think you would enjoy it much… I would advise you avoid it."

"Okay." Harry said weakly. They Headmaster gave him a reassuring nod before leaving them to finish their meal.

After a minute of silence, Hermione eventually asked. "Are you alright, Harry?"

Harry was about to nod automatically, then stopped himself. "I… don't know. I know they… died… on Halloween… but… I don't really stop to think about it. I only found out when I turned eleven and no one really mentions it on the day, and there was stuff to distract me like the feast..."

"And crying girls in the bathroom." Hermione said with a fond smile.

"And crying girls in the bathroom." Harry laughed after a moment's confusion. "And dungbombs hitting Mrs. Norris..."

"You're a good friend, Harry." Hermione leaned over to squeeze his hand, causing him to blush.

"So are you..." Harry coughed nervously. "Speaking of friends… I think we should send a reminder that we haven't forgotten them."

They spent a while writing out a letter to their friends, but decided until after the Champions were named to finish the letter and send it off with Hedwig in the evening.

They spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the train. Hermione started re-reading her books, while Harry chatted quietly with the other students. As the hours passed, the Triwizard hopefuls grew steadily more anxious and Harry eventually brought out his own book to read quietly next to Hermione. But his eyes kept wandering to watch the others pace nervously around the room or bite their nails. Even the Weasley twins seemed unable to find anything to joke about and were sitting on a couch, unconsciously tapping their feet, while staring blankly into thin air.

The whole room jumped when Professor Riddle announced it was time to head out. On his way back from the train after their little adventure out of the castle, he had kept him head down to avoid the gazes of the few people they encountered, and just stared at the back of the Headmaster's legs while following him. So when he walked out into the darkening skies and sharp winds, he was startled at the sight in the distance.

It was _massive_. Harry had never seen something so big that wasn't a building, in fact it towered over several of the structures that were in the grounds and was about half the size of the keep itself. It resembled a huge robed figure, wearing a cloak of black feathers. It's head was covered in black as well but it wasn't just a round shape placed on top of the body, there was a large menacing black beak protruding from the centre of the head pointing out into the sky. Seeing the anthropomorphic creature looming in the distance, Harry's mind was immediately brought back to the wizard he had encountered during his first year in the Chamber of Secrets. He didn't know why he was so surprised, after all it was meant to resemble Grindelwald, the King of Crows.

Harry looked up from his shudder to find Professor Riddle and Hermione looking at him worriedly. "I'm… I'll be fine. You should go Professor."

Professor Riddle glanced towards the large crowd that had gathered in front of rowdy crowd that had gathered in front of the effigy. The Headmaster was expected to attend, it was a celebration of the dark wizard's downfall, but it was also a remembrance to all those that had fallen during the war. In fact it almost sounded as if Harry should be there as well, but Professor Riddle was firm, telling him that if he didn't want to be there, he didn't need to be. Professor Riddle turned back to Harry and gave him an uncertain nod, "It shouldn't be too long, half an hour at the most…"

"You should go as well Hermione," Harry said to his friend, who was determinedly not looking in the direction of the crowd. "Look, I'm really fine with it, in fact I _want_ you to go and tell me what it's like when you get back."

Hermione bit her lip uncertainly. She had been adamant that she had no interest in watching the celebrations, but Harry had been her friend long enough to know when she was lying. Even before she had said a word, he had caught that look of curiosity in her eyes, a curiosity she would do anything to quench if it wasn't for Harry. "Are you… sure?"

"Yes!" Harry sighed and gently pushed her in the direction Professor Riddle had gone towards. "Really. I'll be waiting by the entrance"

Hermione still hesitated, so Harry gave her a smile and started walking away from her, towards the keep. He saw her slowly walk away from him and he let out small breath of relief, he really didn't mind her going, not that he couldn't use some company, but she'd be back soon enough.

He reached the doors, but didn't feel like going inside and sitting in a depressingly empty hall all by himself so he kept walking around the building. The air around him suddenly brightened and even from this distance he felt a tiny prickle of heat on his cloaked back. He automatically turned around, and saw the black crow-like figure engulfed in flames. It was meant to represent Grindelwald's demise, but if anything, Harry thought that the fires surrounding the black cloaked wooden effigy seemed to make the whole thing seem more disturbing, more dangerous.

"Mr. Potter?" Harry whipped around at the croaky voice to find the Headmistress of Durmstrang Institute staring at him.

"Professor Edda." he tried to say politely.

"Ah… I suppose to you, this effigy would feel more like a funeral pyre..." Harry made a vague mumbling noise but the Headmistress just nodded at him, "The students will be disappointed… but I suppose there is nothing that can be done. It will be over shortly, I shall see you in the Hall for the feast and the announcement of Champions?"

Harry nodded and watched her walk towards the gathered crowd. He caught sight of the effigy again and quickly turned away from the conflagration and started walking more quickly. He reached the sharp corner of the keep and kept walking, shadows quickly engulfing him as the building blocked the sight of the burning crow-wizard. He felt a slight relief as the light faded away and he sat down on the cold grass, leaning again the walls. In the distance, he could hear the cheering, the shouts and he thought he could even hear the crackling of the flames, but what made him freeze with his eyes wide open was the sound of footsteps on the grass.

Harry held his breath, his hand slowly inching towards his wand in his robes. He wondered if it might be Hermione, but he couldn't imagine her walking in this darkness without having the common sense to light her wand (unlike Harry). He felt his heart pound faster as he heard the quiet steps get closer and closer, he wanted to call out, but he was suddenly gripped with an intense fear, he thought that giving himself away would be the worse thing that he could do.

His mind raced, wondering what he _could_ do, thinking back to his Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons he had with Professor Aberforth Dumbledore. He let out the tiniest of breath through his nose and his legs tensed underneath him. He slowly counted to three and after shutting his eyes tightly, he leapt up off the ground, shouting " _LUMOS!_ "

There was a scream and Harry opened his eyes just in time to throw himself back onto the ground as a curse flew past where his head had been just half a second ago. He looked up, wand ready, in the direction the spell had come from to find… a girl. She had her hands covering her eyes, presumably startled by the sudden light, her wand pointed in the general direction of Harry and shooting off spells in a panic.

"I'm sorry!" Harry quickly shouted and the light from his wand dimmed to a flickering light. The girl flinched at Harry's voice and her wand jumped towards his direction and shot out another red flash, that flew over his prone body. "I'm a Hogwarts' student! I'm sorry!"

At the mention of his school her wand sagged slightly. She lowered her hand from her face and blinked to clear her vision. "Hogwarts?"

"Yes! I'm sorry, I though you were..." Harry responded to the unmistakably French accent in desperate relief. "I'm really sorry."

She muttered something, causing her wand to light slightly and she pointed it towards Harry. "What are you doing here?"

"I… I didn't want to see the effigy." Harry saw the wariness in the young witch's eyes and decided to answer truthfully.

Her wand wavered slightly at his words and she took a careful step forwards, close enough that the light from her wand illuminated his face. "Harry Potter?"

"Yes! I'm Harry Potter!" he said desperately, for once not caring that he was recognised. The girl lowered her wand and relaxed, walking over to Harry and offering her hand. She pulled him off the grass and he tried to brush the stains off his robes.

"I thought you would be-" she stopped, but Harry completed the question in his mind, 'celebrating Grindelwald's downfall alongside everyone else'. But surprisingly, she said, "...I'm sorry, it must… be hard. With your… parents..."

Harry thought he would never get used to the fact that complete strangers knew more about him than he knew himself for eleven years of his life. "Yeah… something like that… Why aren't you there?"

"It was… disgusting what they were doing to the birds." she said with a scowl, but she quickly shook it off as she focused on Harry again. She looked slightly older than Harry, perhaps a year or two.

"The birds?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"Transfigured crows..." she sniffed. "They stuffed the whole thing with the birds before they set the thing alight…"

Harry paled at the thought. "That seems..."

"C'est un acte de barbarie..." she muttered smoothly.

"Pardon?" Harry blinked.

"Nevermind." she shook her head, her black hair fluttering slightly. "Well, I think I shall wait in the Hall… it is a bit too cold out here. It was a pleasure to get a chance to meet you, Harry Potter."

"Right… erm..." Harry mumbled nervously.

"Corinne." she offered him her hand. He gripped it, giving it a small shake. "Wish me luck for the Tournament."

"Good luck..." she gave him a wink before turning back and returning to the entrance of the keep. He watched her walking into the flickering lights cast by the blazing fire in the distance and gave her a small wave when she turned to give him a smile before disappearing around the corner.

Harry's hand dropped to his side, feeling slightly foolish and he quickly tried to brush off any stray blades of grass from when he had dropped to the ground moments ago.

"Harry! Harry!" he heard someone calling his name in the distance.

"I'm here!" he shouted.

After the sound of quick footsteps, Hermione appeared with her lighted wand raised in front of her. "Where were you Harry? I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Sorry, I was just taking a walk." he smiled at his flustered friend, she was smelling slightly of smoke. "How was it?"

"Barbaric." Hermione huffed. "Animal cruelty at it's worst. Do you have any idea what they're doing to crows?"

"Burning them?" Harry answered.

"Yes they're- Wait, how did you know?" Hermione looked surprised and Harry suppressed a snigger.

"I must be getting better at Divination." Harry tried to say with a straight face.

"Hmph. Yes, well, I thought it was absolutely disgraceful. I understand that they have no love for Grindelwald, but I don't see what taking it out on innocent birds will help." they walked back to the Hall, Hermione telling him the little she had learnt in the short few minutes there. He looked around but the Hall was empty, Corinne wasn't there. "What are you looking for Harry?"

"Er… nothing. So who do you think is going to be Champion?" people eventually started trickling into the Hall. Professor Riddle led the Hogwarts students towards Harry and Hermione when he saw them. They all sat down with a slightly grim expression, a few of them seemed to be slightly shaken and Harry didn't think they were just showing nerves at the impending announcement. The meal appeared and it took far too long for it to vanish again, there was a nervous tension and palpable excitement in the air and everyone seemed eager for the meal to end.

After the food disappeared, the Goblet of Fire was placed on the table in front of Headmistress Edda, "The decision should be made soon..."

The lights around the Hall were extinguished so that the flickering blue flames coming from the Goblet illuminated the faces of the professors nearby with an eerie paleness.

There were several soft gasps as sparks started flying and a tongue of red flame shot out from the Goblet. Edda's hand shot out grabbing something in the air and as she held it close to her face, "The Champion for Beauxbatons will be… Fleur Delacour!"

There was a rousing cheer from the room, and a tall girl with flaxen hair stood up with a triumphant look on her face. Ignoring the disappointed looks from those sitting around her, she strode confidently towards the doorway indicated by the Professors.

The applause died down as another piece of parchment flew out of the Goblet accompanied by more sparks and flame, Edda gripped it in her wrinkled hands and her eyes flashed towards the Hogwarts students, "The Champion for Hogwarts will be… Cedric Diggory!"

There was the briefest of groans from several people sitting around Harry, then they joined in the applause along with the rest of the Hall. The Hufflepuff stood up, looking surprised and looked almost apologetic when he faced the ones that would never have a chance to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. As he left to follow the path that Delacour had taken, the fixed smiles amongst the others died alongside the applause. There were even a few unhappy looks sent towards the Hogwarts Champion.

Quiet murmuring broke out that was quickly quelled by a sharp look from the Headmistress of the school, but there was a hum of anticipation from everyone in the room. The Goblet flared one last time, before the Headmistress, now sporting a smile, announced, "The Champion for Durmstrang will be… Viktor Krum!"

The noise that erupted was such a shock, Harry almost fell off his seat. Even those that had been disappointed at the announcement turned an interested gaze towards the boy that had stood up with a grim smile on his face. Harry turned to Hermione, "Hey isn't that-?"

"KRUM! KRUM! KRUM!-" the rest of Harry's question was drowned out and Hermione just shook her head, he watched the Quidditch player from Ron's letter make his way towards the front of the Hall, one fist raised into the air in acknowledgement of the chanting. Harry realised he didn't really look anything like what he had imagined, or rather what his dreams had conjured up, but Ron's description was pretty accurate, dark hair, curved nose and a rather ungraceful walk on the ground.

A few minutes later, they left the Hall to go back to the train, without Cedric or the Headmaster, who were still presumably deep in discussion about the upcoming tasks. Harry and Hermione expressed their commiserations but only received half-hearted mutters in reply. They fell back slightly and Harry asked about the Durmstrang Champion. Hermione let out a small laugh, "Oh, Ron's going to go absolutely crazy when he hears Viktor Krum is here. The way he was going on about him during the Finals… I mean really, it's just _Quidditch_."

Hermione blanched slightly as several heads turned to face her at the same time, Harry's included.

* * *

 **A/N**

Melting... I've spent the week melting, it was so hot! But I finally managed to finish planning out the rest of the year. So yay?

Would it be completely objectionable if I didn't do accents? There are too many characters in the AU that won't speak with a standard English accent, and I'd honestly just get on with the story rather than trying to struggle with misplaced apostrophes.

Also slightly related to accents but... I would like to apologise in advance for any mistake I make (or have already made) in, Old Norse, Latin, High German, Old English, Ancient Greek, French, Danish or any other language I've been using in my story since Year 2. I don't speak/write/read any of those languages, I just use google to sort all that out. I don't use it too much, and I hope anyone who does speak those languages don't find them all terrible and awkward to read.

Thank you for reading and a double thank you to those that have reviewed. Have a lovely week everyone, and see you next time!


	29. Year 4 - Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Fight and Flight**

 _Harry! Hermione!_

 _Krum! Are you serious! Viktor Krum actually goes to Durmstrang? He's a student and he plays for the Bulgarian NATIONAL QUIDDITCH TEAM! He was the best player in the World Cup! Did you know he set the record for the fastest-_

"How on earth does he memorise so many facts and figures about a Quidditch player, while he completely forgets the ingredients for a potion when he has the textbook open right in front of him?" Hermione asked with an exasperated sigh as she read through three paragraphs of Ron's untidy scrawl declaring Krum's brilliance.

"Quidditch." Harry replied simply with a shrug.

"Quidditch." Hermione echoed, although she made the word sound much more like an insult.

 _-match against Japan! I mean, honestly I would have given anything to have been there to watch it in person!_

 _Harry, Hermione, I would be truly, genuinely, eternally grateful if you could please, please, PLEASE get me an autograph!_

 _So, for Quidditch news a bit closer to home, Ravenclaw managed to beat Hufflepuff quite soundly during the first match of the year. The new Seeker replacing Cedric is a bit rubbish, even Ernie looks a bit miserable whenever she's mentioned. As for the Gryffindor team, I won't lie to you, practice sessions have been a little tense. McLagGIT is being a complete prat and is doing a thorough job annoying everyone on the team. He'll probably be playing during the match against Slytherin, but I'm still hopeful he'll do something stupid and Alicia will let me play during our next game._

 _Alicia's playing Seeker and I'm sorry to tell you, she's still annoyed at you Harry! Ginny's been practising for both Seeker and Chaser positions, she's a backup as well, but she's actually pretty good…_

 _Tell Fred and George I'm sorry they didn't make Champion. Actually, don't, they were bad enough when they passed McGonagall's test, they would have been unbearable if one of their names came out of the Goblet._

 _Have fun, we're all missing you!_

 _Ron_

 _P.S._

 _Please, please, please get me an autograph!_

* * *

"Harry, Hermione, it's this way." they stopped and turned around to find Katrien standing by the corridor heading the opposite direction.

"Oh right, sorry Kat." they turned and followed the older Durmstrang student.

"Don't worry about it. It took me half a year to get used to the layout here." her slightly too narrow eyes gave the impression that she was smirking at them, but they had soon learned to interpret it as a cheerful smile. Her hair was a dark shade of blonde, just like her uncle, but it was long and usually messy due to her love of flying whenever she had a spare chance, making Harry quickly feel comfortable around her.

A few days after getting themselves lost in the unfamiliar school, Katrien, ("Or Kat." she had said when Harry's tongue stumbled slightly trying to say her name) managed to track them down. Kasper had written her a letter asking her to show them around the school, but even after a quick tour of the buildings and grounds, they still had trouble finding their way around the place. A bit like the moving staircases at Hogwarts, whole corridors in Durmstrang Institute had a habit of leading to different places on specific times and dates, and sometimes it seemed to do so whenever it felt like it. The first years at this school had formed the habit of moving from classroom to classroom in tightly packed groups, as setting off by yourself was more than likely to get you lost in the maze like corridors.

After the Champions were picked, it soon became evident that being at Durmstrang for a year wasn't going to be anything like a holiday. Thankfully, Professor Riddle was a very good teacher. He wasn't very strict, but there wasn't much need for it when he was just teaching two fourth years and he explained everything clearly, even though he had to skim through the textbooks a few times in order to answer a question posed by Hermione. Harry even found Potions to be bearable, and maybe even slightly interesting, without Snape constantly looming around him.

They had a few hours with him each day, sometimes a bit less, but that didn't mean they were free for the rest of the day. Harry had to quickly learn how to put in extra work by himself. He not only had to complete the homework set by the Professor, but he was expected to read ahead, but he also started researching topics related to the subject in the Hogwarts Express' library and he had even taken to attempting certain spells a few times before the lessons. The Professor hadn't asked this of him, but Harry constantly felt like he was falling behind, since Hermione usually managed to successfully produce the spells much quicker than Harry could and her extra questions to the Professor usually left Harry feeling completely lost despite having read through the relevant chapters. Hermione was completely in her element, the reading, the research, the never ending learning was everything that she loved and it was easy to see that she had absolutely no regrets about coming to Durmstrang this year.

Thankfully, Harry wasn't completely without help. Not only did he have Hermione, but the Headmaster had asked the older students if any were willing to help them with an extra few lessons and they had all accepted, offering their expertise on one or two subjects they felt confident in. Even Cedric, busy as he was preparing for the first task, gave Harry helpful advice on Transfiguration and Charms, telling him that it was actually good to unwind and get his mind off the Tournament just for a bit.

As Harry was just about getting used to his new routine, the classrooms at Durmstrang was finally opened to the visiting students. Harry and the others were all given a list of classes they could attend and even though he already felt busy enough without having to go to these, Hermione had begged him to come with her to at least one.

They found their way to a large classroom, which was soon filled with students from all three wizarding schools. An incredibly old wizard started lecturing the students with a wheezing voice about some complicated theory in Transfiguration. Even though the lesson was conducted in English, so that the students from Hogwarts and Beauxbatons could follow it, the professor's accent was so thick that Harry struggled to understand any of it. But even the little he managed to make out was so far over his head, it even had Hermione frowning as she hurried to take notes. Harry's mind eventually wandered and as he surveyed the rest of the classroom, he eventually realised that he and Hermione were the two youngest people in here. He remembered that hardly anyone who hadn't at least completed their O.W.L.s were usually offered the chance to visit the other schools, and it seemed Durmstrang didn't take into account having younger students when they were planning out these lessons.

As soon as the hour long lecture ended, Harry stood up to stretch his back. He then froze as he noticed several people approaching him with an excited look in their eyes. Harry was told that the Durmstrang staff had warned their students not to mob Harry and to go about their day as normal. Harry encouraged this by trying to avoid staying in their presence for too long, which might have come off as being unfriendly, but he didn't want to think about what the alternative would be like. But now, since they were taking the same lessons, they were 'classmates' and they couldn't really get into trouble for talking to their 'classmate'.

Within minutes he was blushing red as he tried to answer a few of the many questions, compliments and offers of undying friendship being thrown in his direction. He was rescued by Katrien, whom he had met a few days earlier, who told everyone that Harry had a lesson with Professor Riddle (which was actually true) and gave Harry a gentle shove out the door. After practically fleeing the room that day, he hadn't returned to any of these extra classes.

Hermione reluctantly agreed that the material was a bit to complicated for them, but she religiously attended every single on of these lectures she could find time for. She didn't bring it up again, until a few day later, where she casually mentioned something that she thought Harry might be interested in.

"An Auror?" Harry did feel a piqued interest, which must have shown on his face, which Hermione was quick to latch on to.

"Yes, just like Sirius! And Defence Against the Dark Arts is something you're really good at!" Hermione said excitedly as Harry didn't dismiss it outright. "I talked to a few people and apparently it's quite a lot of actual spellwork rather than just dry lectures, so it should be quite fun."

"...Okay. But just the one." Harry insisted, as much to himself as to Hermione. "I won't promise to keep going unless I can actually keep up with what the professor, or rather, the Auror is teaching."

That morning they hurriedly finished their breakfast and left the table before anyone else, Hermione wanted to get a good seat near the front of the room. They met up with Kat, who was planning on attending the lesson was well, and in their eagerness to show her that they could finally get around the place without getting lost, they led the way, only to almost immediately make a wrong turn. After that they just sheepishly followed the Durmstrang student.

There was still a quarter of an hour until it was scheduled to start, but the room, less of a classroom and more of a moderately sized hall, was already full of students from all three schools. Harry eagerly watched the door as more students slowly made their way inside, just like last time they were all older than him. He was surprised when Professor Riddle walking inside and joined his students.

"Are you teaching the class Professor?" Angelina asked.

"Not unless I'm asked to." the Professor shook his head with a small smile. "No, I'm just here to watch."

The door opened again and a wizard stepped inside. He looked like a more compact version of Hagrid, but he still towered over everyone else, making him the tallest, normal sized person Harry had ever seen. There was absolutely no hair on the top of his head, but his beard came down to his chest, braided into several thick knots of dark brown going grey. The wizard's eyes widened when he saw the Professor, then his beard twitched into a smile and he approached the Headmaster with his arms open. "Tom! It's been too long, old friend."

Tom Riddle returned the embrace, "It has indeed Jørgen. When I heard you would be conducting the class today, I had to come see for myself."

"Ah, of course… You can do more than watch Tom, I could really use a hand..." the wizard turned a startled eye around the room, almost as if he had forgotten what he was here for, to find everyone staring at him expectantly. He stepped towards the front of the room and turned to face his students. "Welcome. I am Auror Rosencrantz with the European Ministry. I was invited by Headmistress Edda to impart to you some of what I know about battling the dark arts. Headmaster Riddle of Hogwarts will be assisting me today."

"A pleasure." Riddle gave a small nod to the room.

"Now, Durmstrang Institute has had it's share of denunciations levelled towards it due to the fact that it once housed some of the darkest witches and wizards of their time, most notoriously Grind-" at the sound of the name there was a visible reaction from the students. There were a few yelps, many that shivered and some managed to keep their reaction to tightening grips on their wands. None of the students from Hogwarts reacted that severely. Rosencrantz ignored the reaction and carried on. "-elwald. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, Durmstrang has produced more Aurors than any other wizarding school in the world."

Harry doubted anyone here didn't know what an Auror did, but they all listened intently at the wizard's words as he explained some of the things he does during his job. It didn't go on for long and he quietly murmured something to Professor Riddle, who gave a short reply. "I know you must all be eager to get a chance to learn some advanced spells, but I think for the first half of this lesson, we will review the basics. It is often the simplest of magic that can help you out of a sticky situation."

They were split into twos and there were quite a lot of people pairing up with students from another school but Harry stuck with Hermione, they were both quite intimidated by the older students. The Auror produced a little bang from his wand, starting dozens of little duels all around the room. He had given them a list of spells to use, which was still quite long and more than a few were unknown to Harry, but he knew enough that he didn't feel particularly inadequate around everyone else.

The Professor and the Auror slowly made their way around the room, giving quiet words of advice before moving on. It was the Auror Rosencrantz that walked towards Harry and Hermione, making them pause. "No, no, carry on..."

"Er… right..." he Auror crossed his arms and watched them with a serious expression. " _Stupefy!_ "

Hermione managed to block it before sending her own Stunning Charm his way. Harry jumped aside and sent a scarlet light in an attempt to disarm his friend, but yelped in surprise when he saw one speeding towards him. He gritted his teeth and shouted, " _Prote-_ "

But before he could complete the incantation his wand flew out of his hand and clattered onto the floor between the two duelling students. Harry caught something in the corner of his vision and automatically held his hand up, snatching Hermione's wand from the air. Harry quickly moved to pick up his own wand and gave Hermione's back to her.

"Why didn't you use a Shield Charm at the start?" the Auror asked Harry.

"I… I'm not that great at it..." it had been something they had tried to learn last year, but it was quite a bit more difficult than they expected and with the whole incident with the werewolf and Gaunt, they had never gotten around to mastering it.

Rosencrantz nodded in a way that didn't make him feel bad. "Alright, why don't you show me now. You too Miss Granger."

Hermione managed one on her second try but Harry took a bit longer and even when it appeared it felt slightly weak. The Auror corrected some of his wand movement, he was moving it too tightly and also gave another bit of advice.

"Intention?" Hermione asked with a slight frown. "Well… I don't really think about that… I just concentrate on the wand movement and the incantation."

Rosencrantz turned to Harry with the same question. "I guess... I think of how I don't want to get hit by the spell coming my way..."

The Auror laughed and Harry felt slightly stupid. "Well, there's no wrong answer, but sometimes having the right intention behind the spell can help you. When I first learned to use the Shield Charm, I imagined there was someone behind me, someone that I had to protect. It might help if you tried that."

They stepped back to give Harry some room and he raised his wand and closed his eyes. He pictured Ron and Hermione standing behind him, all back to back facing threats coming from around them, and a figure rising in front of him with his wand raised threateningly, a curse on the tip of his tongue. He would protect them, he would protect his friends. Harry opened his eyes sharply, " _Protego!_ "

Even though he couldn't see it, he could feel it, an invisible barrier forming in front of him. Rosencrantz beamed with approval, before he raised his wand and shouted, " _Expelliarmus!_ ". The spell shot out towards Harry, but he stood his ground and with a reflective flash of light the spell shot right back at the Auror, who deflected it into the ceiling. "Well done, Mr. Potter!"

The hour passed quickly and by the end Hermione knew she didn't have to ask Harry whether he was going to be back, his expression told her everything. They were about to leave when they found someone blocking the way. "Harry Potter! I've hear you play Quidditch?"

"Erm… yeah..." Harry said nervously. Harry looked behind the boy and saw the rest of the class watching them, but keeping a distance.

Fred and George were instantly besides him with their arms over his shoulders. "He doesn't just _play_ Quidditch..."

"He's only the best bloody Seeker at our school!" George added with a challenging grin.

"Oh really?" the Durmstrang boy raised an eyebrow. "We have our share of decent Seekers here as well. Are you up for a game?"

"Sure!" Fred and George answered for Harry. "We'd love to play, right Harry?"

"I don't have a broomstick with me." Harry said weakly, as the others were slowly closing in around him, all seemingly excited about a game of the wizarding world's most popular sport.

"You can borrow one of the school's broomsticks, they're in pretty good shape." the boy replied, blocking off Harry's final chance of escaping. It didn't turn out to be as bad as he feared, they approached him with their excitement quietly contained, almost as if someone had taught them how to get closer to Harry without scaring him off, like he was a stray dog they were trying to tame. He was still slightly cautious, but was soon deep in conversation about tricky manoeuvrers, infamous games and their favourite Quidditch teams.

They eventually left behind the winding corridors, for once without having to think which way he was meant to go, and followed the large excited group out of the keep. They were led to a building tucked under the shadow of the wall, far away from where the Hogwarts Express had landed. A girl tapped her wand against the door and it creaked open, revealing rows of neatly stacked broomsticks.

A few of the students wandered inside and took some of the brooms, handing it to those waiting outside. The Durmstrang boy who had approached Harry about Quidditch in the first place took a while longer to examine the brooms, before picking one up and offering it to Harry. "It's the one Krum uses when we don't let him use his own Firebolt."

"Thanks..." Harry ran his fingers down the broomstick, feeling a tinge of excitement from the fact that an international Quidditch player had touched the same length of wood. The inscription on the handle read ' _Sleipnir Niu'_ , and besides it was what Harry presumed was the logo of the maker, it looked like a horse, only the artist seemed to have drawn a lot more legs than a horse usually had.

"Where's the Quidditch pitch?" a Beauxbatons student asked out loud.

"It's not on the island, you have to cross the bridge and go all the way around. It's a bit of a pain, so it's quicker to fly there." Harry had been watching Hermione refusing a broomstick, so he saw her flinch slightly at the prospect of flying.

"You can ride with me, Hermione." Angelina said before Harry had a chance to offer.

"Everyone have broom?" everyone murmured in response and the girl tapped the door shut. "Then we go!"

They kicked off one by one. Harry watched Hermione and Angelina take into the air, the former clutching the older student tightly around the waist, before pushing off the ground himself. He felt the familiar rush of wind on his face, before the broom shuddered slightly underneath him. It was definitely different compared to him Nimbus. While his own broom seemed to obey his every thought, this one felt slightly wild and untamed, but it had an energy about it and Harry instinctively knew that this was a very good broomstick. While it didn't seem to go as fast as his own broom, there was also a feeling of sturdiness that his Nimbus slightly lacked and as a sudden gust of bitterly cold wind blew across from his side, he only had to adjust his direction slightly, if he had been on his Nimbus, it would have taken more than a little effort to stop himself from being blown off course.

He tried and failed to suppress a yell of joy as he rushed pass the students in front of him. He hadn't been in the air since the Gryffindor try-outs and, by Merlin, did he miss it. He loved Hogwarts and he loved his friends, but _flying_! He just felt so free in the air, there was no Grindelwald, no Albus Dumbledore and definitely no Nullificare Charm chaining him down.

He looked around and he saw the others flying around him look at him with genuinely impressed expressions, not just the blind admiration they had been sporting so far. He saw Hermione, looking pale and terrified, give him a smile and for the first time since he came to Durmstrang, he felt so unabashedly _happy_. He saw the Quidditch pitch from a distance and started to descend and for the first time since arriving here, he felt a sense of familiarity, it seemed that Quidditch pitches were the same wherever in the world you were.

"Right, who wants to play?" Fred's question was met with a rush of response, he looked a bit startled. "Right. Harry's definitely playing Seeker, what positions do you play?"

Most of the group seemed eager to have a go, there was only a handful, like Hermione, that was content to just watch. One of the Durmstrang students finally made a suggestion, "We have a little game we sometimes play during our practice sessions. One Seeker and Keeper, but six Chaser and four Beaters on each team. There's also two Quaffles and four Bludgers at play at the same time and five Golden Snitches, let out one by one, the match will only end when they're all found. It's utterly confusing, but it helps us improve our reflexes. We'll also be able to have more people playing at the same time."

There was a murmur of conversation and Angelina finally said, "Looks like it'll be Hogwarts and Beauxbatons versus Durmstrang."

"Hogbatons versus Durmstrang. Or is it Beauxwarts?" Fred snorted in amusement and there was a ripple of chuckling from the others.

Harry felt a strange sort of excitement as he kicked off into the air with eleven other players, a strange mixture of Hogwarts' and Beauxbaton's finest. He gave a startled nod when Adrian Pucey flew up behind him, gripping his shoulders and said fiercely, "Let's show them what Hogwarts can do!"

At the sound of a whistle, there was a flurry of movement as twenty four broomsticks and their riders launched into action. Within seconds was the first casualty as Fred or George (Harry couldn't tell from this distance) hit a Bludger straight into the path of the Durmstrang Chaser, but even as he dropped the ball another player quickly picked it up and scored the first goal of the match. They followed that with three additional goals in succession, the Hogwarts/Beauxbatons team were having a little trouble getting used to working with each other as well getting their head around the chaotic mess of having so many players flying around at the same time.

But Harry tried to ignore all of this and concentrated on his own job and eventually he was rewarded with the glimmer of the Snitch across the pitch. He leaned flat against his broom and shot forwards, right into the oncoming path of a Durmstrang Chaser holding the ball. She startled and flinched, missing the pass, but Harry made a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding her. The other Seeker had just seen the Snitch as well, but instead of throwing herself into the aerial crowd, she angled her broom up higher into the air. Harry weaved in and out between his own teammates as well as the opposition, making it almost impossible for anyone to aim a Bludger at him.

"Harry! Don't stop! Keep going, straight ahead!" Harry had cleared through the players and flinched at the shout. There was a hint of anxiety in Angelina's voice, making Harry want to look back, but he trusted her.

He saw movement from the corner of his eye, but ignored it and kept flying straight. Even with the sound of the wind around his ears, he heard the heavy sound of a bat connecting with a Bludger, he instinctively turned his head and saw the metal ball flying right for him. "Keep going, Harry Potter!"

Accompanying the French accent came a flurry of blue robes from underneath him, that moved to intercept the Bludger. After hearing another sound of metal hitting wood, Harry shouted a quick "Merci!", which was met with the sound of laughter (his accent wasn't that bad was it?) and ten seconds later, the first Golden Snitch was struggling against his fingers.

Hogbatons were winning, thanks mostly to Harry managing to catch three of the four Golden Snitches so far, but the other players were starting to fight back as well. They had also managed to gather quite a large crowd who had seen the game from the castle and were now all eagerly cheering from the ground. Amongst them were the three school Champions, who had been called away in the morning to get their wands weighed, although Harry had no idea what that meant. Krum had quietly shaken his head when he was asked if he wanted to join the game, but as Harry caught the fourth Snitch, there was a shrill whistle and the announcement that there would be a substitution.

Krum took the broomstick from the Seeker and kicked off effortlessly into the air, his eyes constantly following Harry. The game started again and Harry stuck close to the international player. Even after his brilliant flying so far, he had no doubts who the better player was. Maybe it was having Krum on the team or perhaps they had been holding back slightly, but the Durmstrang team began flying with renewed fervour, scoring goal after goal, until they eventually caught up enough that if Krum caught the Snitch, the game would end a tie. That was when the Bulgarian Seeker made his move.

He was fast, but Harry was chasing after him at the exact same moment. Harry tried to work out where Krum was flying towards, but he was having enough trouble dodging Bludgers and players, while trying to inch closer to his opponent. Just as he flew close enough to be able to reach Krum's broom with an extended arm, the Bulgarian Seeker pushed his broom down, flying towards the ground in an almost vertical drop. Harry didn't stop to think and followed suit, feeling his heart hammering against his chest, this was unlike any game of Quidditch he had played before.

He kept frantically searching for the Snitch, but he kept a close eye on Krum and there was a hint of an instinctual warning at the back of him mind. So he saw the moment when the Bulgarian Seeker twisted his broom upwards and he knew then that it had been a trick. Harry pulled his broom back and twisted upside down and was back at the other Seeker's heels. He looked into the distance in the direction Krum was heading towards and saw the Golden Snitch, fluttering uncertainly in the harsh winds. With sharp turns and smooth corners, the two Seekers danced around the other players, who had all stopped their own game to stare and watch what was possibly the best two teenage Seekers in the world.

They were flying almost side by side now and Krum moved slightly to give Harry a slight bump to his shoulder. It barely distracted Harry but Krum gave another, slightly harder shove, making the Hogwarts student grit his teeth in challenge. Harry hunched his shoulders before veering into his opponent. He had been expecting resistance but gave a yelp in surprise as he only encountered empty air, and the faint brush of robes against his arm, then his back, as Viktor Krum was flying upside down above him. Krum gave a small push with his back against Harry's and for a second Harry lost control of his broom, before aiming it back towards the Snitch. But in a game this tight, that single second gave Krum enough time to shoot forwards the last few feet and wrap his fingers around the Golden Snitch.

The score was announced as a tie and everyone in the air, as well as on the ground, were cheering the brilliant flying that had just been showcased, but Harry barely heard any of it as he concentrated on Krum. He was looking at Harry with a quiet smile on his lips, but his eyes were expressive, flaring with excitement and the rush of adrenaline. "You are very good Seeker, Harry Potter. As good as me when I was your age… maybe better..."

"You were brilliant too!" Harry breathed heavily, but he looked at the other with genuine awe. "I heard what you did at the World Cup, I would have loved to have been there!"

"You were not there?" Krum frowned. "I would expect Harry Potter to be given ticket..."

Harry was spared having to give an answer as the rest of the players descended upon them, not a single person disappointed at the draw. They landed back on the ground and for once Harry accepted the praise and compliments that were being heaped onto him, he wasn't the Boy Who Lived, he was just the second best Seeker currently on top of this mountain.

His elation came crashing down as his eyes landed on several wizards and witches, definitely not students, all holding cameras as well as quills into the air.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Potter! We are from Der Zauberspiegel, could you ple- UMPH!"

"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet! Are you disappointed- HEY WATCH IT!"

"L'avenir Observateur! Can you tell us where- EEEP!"

Countless reporters were pushing past the glaring students and each other, trying their best to get to Harry, completely ignoring the panicked and pale look of the black haired boy. He was so shocked at their sudden appearance, he couldn't even find it in himself to speak a word and just tried to inch away, until he backed into a solid wall of Quidditch players. They moved around him, setting themselves protectively between the flashing cameras and Harry, a few were even pointing their wands threateningly at the approaching reporters.

"Harry, get on your broom and fly back to the school. We'll hold them off here." Kat discretely whispered in his ear.

Harry gave a grateful nod. He tried to see past the throng and managed to catch a glimpse of Hermione's worried face, but gave up trying to reach her when a hand shot out from under George's arm, attempting to grab onto him. He quickly got back onto the _Sleipnir Niu_ and escaped into the freedom of the skies. He heard the gasps of astonishment, followed by the clicking and flashes of several cameras going off at once but he ignored the shouted questions and glided back towards the island.

After flying for about a minute he chanced a glance backwards and although people were still pointing and waving at him, thankfully no one was following him. He slowed down, lowering himself until his feet were skimming the clear blue waters of the lake. He had to admit, he had found himself comparing Durmstrang to his own school quite often during his time here and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Hogwarts always came on top. The lake, however, was the one part of this Scandinavian school that he found hauntingly beautiful. On days when there was slightly less wind, which he had yet to experience more than once, the waters were so clear, it was like looking through a window into another world. Deep below the surface, he could see vague shapes and shadows of fish and other less identifiable creatures swimming lazily in the frosty waters.

He left the low waves of the calming lake and rose back into the air as he approached the high walls. He looked down and saw someone give him a slight wave. He hesitated a moment before lowering himself onto the rampart and jumped off his broom. "Hi… er… Corinne?"

"You remembered me." she gave him a small smile.

"Er… yeah..." Harry blushed, he turned away from her and looked around. "What are you doing up here? _How_ did you get up here?"

Corinne shrugged and pointed at a trapdoor a few feet away. "I explored. Found a way up here, and decided I like the view. I was watching you fly."

Harry looked through narrow openings in the battlements that were at least a foot higher than his head and saw that he could just about see the Quidditch pitch across the lake. "Oh. You should have come over and played with us. There were other Beauxbatons students as well."

"Yes, I saw. But I'm afraid I'm not very good at flying. I really wouldn't dare go up into the air with all this wind." And as if to emphasise her point, a sudden gust pulled her dark hair in an arc behind her. She laughed as she tried to push it down. "It appears there is more to you than your name, Harry Potter, you are a very good flyer."

Harry frowned, not sure if she was mocking him or not, but decided to accept the compliment. "Thanks, I guess. You can just call me Harry, by the way."

"I didn't mean to offend you, Harry." she shook her head sharply. "Forgive me, I am still a little disappointed at not being chosen as Champion."

"Oh, erm..." Harry completely understood, even Fred and George had been moody towards him once or twice since the announcement. "I'm sure you're talented enough if you were chosen to come here, even if you weren't picked in the end."

She looked him up and down with a small frown, "How old are you fourteen? Fifteen?"

"Fourte-"

"You are two years younger than me and yet you were a candidate for Champion for your school, and now I find that you are a very talented flyer. And all that's on top of your fame and popularity." she said rather dismissively.

Harry went red with irritation, the reporters from only moments ago coming into his mind. "For your information, I wasn't a candidate for Champion, I had no other choice but to come here, to 'make friends' with people from the other schools on the Minister of Magic's orders. Yes I'm famous, but for what? For something I can't even remember, on the day my parents died?"

"You are not the only one to have lost a parent to… him." her quiet voice made his anger deflate instantly. "I doubt there is anyone in Durmstrang or my own school that was completely untouched by the war, and there are definitely more than one that has lost a mother, or a father, or both..."

"Did both your…?" Harry blurted out, just managing to stop himself from completing the question. But she had heard enough to understand what he was asking.

"No, just my father. Even though sometimes I wish I lost both..." Harry was sure he wasn't meant to hear the last part, but his eyes widened in shock. Corinne let out a noise as if she was annoyed with herself. "I didn't mean that. I'm just… I don't have a very good relationship with my mother."

Harry wasn't sure what he was meant to say and just said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"She's a Muggle." the witch said as if that explained everything. "Not that I hate Muggles or anything, it's just her. And she doesn't like magic much and… I mean… ugh. Look, I'm just going to go now..."

Before he could say anything to stop her, she hurried to the trap door and opened it with her wand. Without looking back at Harry, she stepped down into the darkness.


	30. Year 4 - Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Testing Your Daring**

 _Hiya Hermione! Hey Harry!_

 _Seems like you've been having fun! It almost makes me wish I'd been slightly braver and… Well, never mind, I guess there's no point regretting about it now!_

 _We did Boggarts in Professor Dumbledore's class last week, he actually brought one in to the classroom and we all had to face it, one by one. It was honestly quite horrifying._

"What's a Boggart?" Harry asked curiously, his finger pointing at the unfamiliar word.

"Oh. It's a creature that… It's in our books, I'll get it after we finish reading this..." Hermione mumbled.

 _I won't tell you what appeared, it's a bit embarrassing, but I guess it was worth it. You never know when it might come in handy. We've been getting together to try to look up and practice some of the spells you've been doing with Professor Riddle, but it's sometimes hard to find the time. Ron's really thrown himself into Quidditch, he's out flying whenever he can find the time. I'm a bit worried about his grades suffering. Potions is the worst, without you, he's really having a pretty miserable time in class, Hermione, but don't tell him I said that!_

 _It's been a few weeks but Ernie and the rest of his house are still celebrating Cedric being made Hogwarts Champion. Have you found out anything more about the first task? 'Testing your daring'? I'm really wishing I'd taken the test with Professor Flitwick now, getting a chance to see it in person must be so exciting!_

 _Oh, right. I hope the book arrived safely. I think it's the kind of thing you were looking for, but I didn't realise it was going to be so heavy. Two owls arrived with it a few days ago. Hedwig seems insistent that she'll be able to carry it on her own, she even nipped me with her beak when I suggested she might need help! She managed to lift it when I asked her to, but I'm still a bit worried. Oh dear, now I'm worrying if you'll even manage to get this letter?_

Harry turned to his snowy own, contently nibbling on the treats from Hagrid. He stroked her fondly, "You're brilliant, Hedwig."

She gave a quietly dignified hoot in response, as if she was saying "Of course."

 _Oh, I'm really worried now. Harry, as soon as you get this, can you please call Remus on your mirror? I really want to make sure Hedwig is okay. I'll ask him to contact you if I don't hear from you in a few days._

 _I'll see you soon!_

 _Sue_

 _P.S._

 _I'm sure you're sick of hearing it, but Ron's still asking about the autograph!_

* * *

Harry woke up to the sound of nervous pacing in the room. With a quiet groan he shifted the curtains from his bed, "You're up already, Cedric?"

"Sorry, did I wake you?" the Hufflepuff looked like he hadn't slept all that well. When Harry crawled into bed last night, the Hogwarts Champion was still going through a large stack of books he had accumulated on his side of the room. A glance out the window told Harry that is was still very early, but Cedric looked like he was already dressed and ready for the day.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." Harry yawned before getting up. He couldn't really blame Cedric for being anxious, he couldn't imagine what a nervous wreck he would be if he had been chosen as Champion, now that it was finally the day of the first task.

After a quick wash he came downstairs by himself, Cedric said he wanted to stay in the room for a while longer and continued his pacing, followed by the occasional rush to find something in a book. There were already quite a few people in the common room. As nerve-wracking as it was for the Champions, it was an exciting event that the rest could look forward to watching and not just for the students and staff of the three schools. Apparently tickets to each of the three events were sold by the organisers, with good seats fetching prices akin to a high quality broomstick.

They were given a day off from their lessons, so they spent the morning after breakfast relaxing by the fire with a book or gathered playing games. Philip, the other Hufflepuff student, tried to drag Cedric and a few others into a 'relaxing' game of Exploding Snap, in an attempt to diffuse some of the tension radiating off his friend, without much success. At lunch time the Hall of Tapestries seemed to be more crowded than usual and the group from Hogwarts were joined by Cedric's parents. His mother looked as pale as Cedric was, but Mr. Diggory was quite loud, telling everyone around him how proud he was to have a son chosen as Hogwarts Champion.

When most of them had finished eating, a member of the Committee for the Triwizard Tournament came to collect Cedric in preparation for the first task. Soon after that the food disappeared and it was time for everyone else to follow. It was slow going, as the crowd of several hundreds left the keep, crossed the bridge (making Harry worry about whether it would collapse under all the weight) and finally reached a clearing with rows upon rows of high benches facing a large white screen, like he would expect to find in a cinema. Beyond the screen and a little to the side, was a large colourful tent and next to it was an enormous boulder with a large gaping hole, an entrance leading into darkness.

At a curiously voiced question, the Headmaster explained, "When they brought back the Triwizard Tournament this century, the first few games were rather dull for the spectators. The tasks would often happen in places that made it all but impossible for the others to watch and in cases of the judges, to give an appropriate score for the Champions' efforts. After spending years to look for a solution, they came up with these screens. The Champions all wear these little headbands and the screen will show you the view from their perspective, as well as sound out the noise that is happening around them."

They took their seats on the stands, most of them holding little banners showing their support for Cedric. Fred and George Weasley had the largest, a huge yellow and black flag with a badger and the words, 'Cedric Diggory – Hogwarts Champion' written in flashing letters. "Where did you get that?"

"Made it, of course, last night." George turned to Harry with a grin.

"Need to support our school, don't we?" Fred said with a wink and a glint in his eyes.

"Sure..." Harry gave them a bemused smile. It had been more than a little awkward when Cedric was chosen, as the twins had taken it quite badly and on more than one occasion had muttered insults towards the Hufflepuff boy when he wasn't around. It almost came to the point where Harry felt he had to chose between the two Weasleys, his best friend's brothers and Quidditch team mates, or Cedric, his new roommate. Eventually, the twins seemed to get over it, but it still felt very strange to find them actively cheering for Cedric so enthusiastically.

"Excuse me! Please! The first task will begin shortly! Please settle down!" the magically enhanced voice of Metaxas echoed around the crowds, and they all quietened down to a hushed, excited whispering. "Thank you!"

Harry looked down at the bench right at the front, where the two representatives from the European Ministry as well as the Heads of the three schools were seated. A shrill whistle sounded and the screen flickered into life as the flaps of the tent opened and Cedric stepped out to cheering, the loudest coming from the Hogwarts group. As the Champion looked from side to side, the screen moved with him, showing the crowds seated in the benches, the five judges, before settling down on the mouth of the cave.

" _Lumos._ " Cedric said in a throaty whisper, before stepping inside.

"First of all, I would like to reassure all of you watching, that there are talented Aurors on standby inside and should any of the Champions find themselves in mortal danger, they will reveal themselves and assist the Champion back outside. The Champions obviously have no idea that this is the case, they are entering the cave armed only with a wand, with no idea what they will be facing, they only know that this task will be testing their daring and that they must collect some water from the well and return to the surface." Metaxas' words causes a ripple of excitement to spread through the crowd. The screen wasn't showing much, Cedric continued slightly downwards, deeper underground.

There was a smattering of laughter when Cedric stumbled over something, he turned around and lowered his wand and the laughs were instantly replaced by horrified screams. Metaxas raised his voice quickly, "There's no need to worry, it is not real! Merely transfigured from sticks and stones!"

Even after than explanation, there were quite of lot of people sounding quite distressed. Suddenly having a pile of bones, looking unmistakably human, suddenly appear on the screen illuminated by wandlight, had sent Harry's heart beating against his throat.

Cedric's wand was shaking slightly, but he turned around, took a deep breath and continued walking. He was walking with his wand slightly lowered, his head looking down from time to time to make sure he didn't trip over anything else, but he still flinched every time another skeleton entered the light. Hermione gave a little gasp each time as well, "I wonder why they put all those in there?"

"Maybe to try and scare the Champions?" Harry shrugged.

"Maybe..." Hermione frowned. "There must be more to it than that though… Maybe it's meant to be a clue to what they're about to face?"

The question was left unanswered as they concentrated on the screen again. The tunnel suddenly widened to a huge underground cavern and even when Cedric held his wand high up into the air, the light didn't reach the edges. With a mutter, he dimmed the light and he, and everyone watching the screen, could see a pale blue light in the distance, illuminating the well and the Champions' target.

After hesitating for a moment, he broke into a run, pausing only once when more bones crunched under his feet, this time they looked almost like something had spat it out after it's meal. Cedric came to a sudden stop and turned around, and there were shrieks of surprise from the spectators, as the screen was instantly filled with some sort of large creature, with a deathly white face and numerous sharp teeth crowded in it's mouth.

The creature darted forwards and Cedric quickly shot off a few Stunning Charms before throwing himself to the side, barely managing to dodge the heavy pale body that shook the earth with it's movements. Cedric started running towards the well, but the creature was surprisingly long and it's bottom half suddenly came into view and he barely managed to drop to the floor in time to avoid it's swinging tail. There was a deafening roar that was loud enough to cause vibrations under the seats the spectators were sitting on, and Cedric turned around to see the creature lunging for him again.

"What on earth is that?" Hermione whispered, but no one answered her. They had only caught glimpses of it when it entered the range of Cedric's wandlight and by the confused mutterings going around them, no one seemed to be able to positively identify it.

" _Nox!_ " there was instant darkness and there was complete silence. The screen had gone completely black, but they could hear the heavy breathing of the Hufflepuff boy and the low growling coming from the creature. Cedric let out a sharp breath and he began to quietly mutter an unintelligible spell and there was a sudden dim light in front of him, followed by the sound of barking. The dog, with a glowing, wagging tail, suddenly shot forwards, it's barking completely masked by the roar that came from the creature. Within a few seconds, Cedric had managed to transfigure two more of these dogs from the earth, and sent them off into two other directions.

With the distraction set up, the Hogwarts Champion slowly backed towards the well, while trying to keep an eye on his three dogs as well as bracing himself for the creature's reappearance. There was a yelp and all they saw was a flash of teeth before the first of the transfigured creatures disappeared. Cedric started running towards the well, he was almost there just as the second dog was swallowed up alongside a huge chunk of earth and scattered bones.

He crouched down, picking up a pebble and quickly transfigured it into a metal flask, without pausing for more than half a second. They could see the well more clearly now, and the three pale statues of witches that were standing around it. He reached the small stone well and pushed his hand forwards between two of the statues, about to dip the transfigured flask under the surface of the water, when he suddenly started sneezing. Cedric peered inside and everybody could see that there were several brown feathers floating along the surface of the shimmering water. While he continued to sniff and sneeze uncontrollably, he managed to collect some of the water, just when the last dog he had transfigured started barking loudly.

A quick glance back told him that the creature had been attracted by the sneezing and was ignoring the dog and was coming for the Hufflepuff boy. He started running back towards the way he entered and without looking back or pausing, launched several spells over his shoulders. The rumble of the ground and the low growling told him that the creature was slowly gaining on him, but by now he could see the narrow entrance, now an exit, back to the surface. He stopped trying to hit the creature with his magic and concentrated on running faster. The crowd was roaring and cheering and a quick glance behind his shoulders told them that the creature was only a few feet away. He lunged forwards, into the narrow passageway, crying out in pain as he landed on the ground. He turned on his back to find the entrance blocked by the teeth, a flaring nostril and an eyeball as big as a person's hand, but still looking much too small for it's body. He looked down and his robes were torn, one of his legs had a wide gash that was bleeding and there was a wince of sympathy from the spectators.

Cedric quickly tapped the wound with his wand, wrapping it in tight bandages, before hobbling back up, favouring his uninjured leg. The spectators silently waited until the Hogwarts Champion emerged out of the tunnel, one arm shielding his eyes from the sudden onslaught of sunlight, and then there was a cheer so loud that he almost fell back into the cave in surprise. He gave a wave and a sheepish grin before limping towards the Healer standing nearby.

"Excellent! Excellent use of Transfiguration! I dare say, even with that unfortunate stumble at the end, I think Mr. Diggory can expect a pretty good score!" Metaxas bellowed loudly, before sitting back down and fell into a silent discussion with the rest of the judging panel. Cedric had been healed and his robes repaired, and was now waiting patiently for the scores.

Metaxas raised his wand shooting off a silver ribbon into the air which twisted around to the number nine. Riddle gave a nine, Maxime an eight, Edda a nine and Crouch nodded to himself as he shot out the final number nine. The crowd cheered again at the excellent results and Cedric raised his hand slightly before wandering towards his parents and fellow Hogwarts students.

"You were brilliant!" Harry had to almost shout over everyone else heaping praise to the Hufflepuff. Cedric took off the strange headband he was wearing, which had an eye painted on it and was immediately set upon by his parents. Mr. Diggory wasn't looking as happy as he had been during lunch, he seemed rather green.

After gently prising himself away from his mother's worried hug, Cedric shook his head, his smile had faltered slightly and he was looking pretty shaken. "That… was the most terrifying thing I ever had to do..."

"You know… watching that, I'm so glad I didn't put my name into the Goblet..." Hermione muttered quietly to Harry. Harry nodded in agreement, it was bad enough watching Cedric, but if it had been Hermione in there…

The second whistle sounded as Fleur Delacour appeared, her chin raised in confidence and she bowed slightly towards the judges, before flicking her hair over her shoulders and stepped inside the cave. Having already seen what the Champion was going to face, there was slightly less tension amongst the spectators, but there was still several excitedly whispered discussions on how Delacour was going to handle the creature.

It started out pretty much the same, a stumble, light towards the ground then rapidly muttered French that Harry had later learned was some rather nasty swear words. When she reached the opening to the wide underground chamber, she paused and raised her wand into the air and made a quick and concise motion with her hand, before shouting, " _Excandesco solis!_ "

The screen filled with a brilliant white flash which slowly dissipated and an intense ball of light, looking like a miniature sun, slowly flew out towards the roof of the cavern. Delacour took a hesitant step inside and immediately froze. In the middle of the room, staring at the witch, was the monstrous looking creature in all it's horrific glory.

It looked like a creature out of nightmares. A pale white thing that vaguely resembled a lizard, it's head almost as wide as it's body, it's mouth open wide and revealing several sets of razor sharp teeth. It's forearms were thick as tree trunks, ending in claws caked in dirt. From it's wide head, it narrowed towards the tail, almost giving the bottom half of the creature a serpentine look, but jutting out from odd angles were several limbs, which didn't move, but were dragged along the floor as the grotesque lizard shifted it's body towards the Beauxbatons Champion.

"It's some sort of lindwyrm… sort of a lesser dragon..." Sylvia muttered quietly.

"Dragon? That ugly thing is a dragon?" Fred snorted. "Even Charlie would run away from that thing, screaming his head off..."

The creature seemed almost as started as Delacour was at the sudden light, but soon recovered with a roar and began clawing it's way towards her. She was startled into a run, circling the edge of the room, while she used her wand to blow up large gusts of wind that threw up dust at the incoming beast. Then she took a deep breath and started running towards the cloud that obfuscated the centre of the room. The dust seemed to shift slightly at the edges, and she quickly pointed her wand at her feet and jumped into the air just as the creature emerged, all snarls and teeth.

Delacour arced gracefully through the air, almost touching the ceiling, while the creature looked about it confusion. She slowly descended, landing softly on the creature's back and began to slowly creep towards it's tail. It must have had very thick skin, since it didn't seem to notice the witch tiptoeing on it's back and just moved it's head side to side, as if sniffing the air. Everyone watched with bated breath as the young witch carefully stepped off the creature and moved slowly towards the well. She moved her wand with a silent spell and some of the shimmering water and a single grey feather, gathered into a sphere and froze in the shape of a teardrop. She snatched it out of the air and placed it none to gently inside her pocket before turning around.

The creature was still facing away from her and she seemed to hesitate for a moment, wondering what to do. Delacour looked down at her feet and pointed her wand at them, but before she could mutter the incantation, a thick white tail whipped around, catching her in the side and throwing her off her feet and tumbling over the dirt and bones.

It was evident that the creature hadn't done this intentionally, since it seemed as startled as anyone watching when he heard the cry of pain and surprise coming from behind it. It whirled around as Fleur Delacour struggled onto her feet, clutching her wand.

Hermione had her eyes shut and was gripping Harry's hand like a vice, even Harry had the urge to look away, but he kept his eyes on the screen.

The Beauxbatons Champion launched several spells towards the creature, which bounced off harmlessly as it launched towards her with it's mouth gaping open. She managed to avoid the head, but as the rest of the body passed, the tail crashed into her and this time, she was thrown much further and landed with a rolling crash on the ground. Everyone heard her whimper as she tried to put weight on her legs, but she crumpled back onto the floor. She gave up trying to stand up and started crawling towards the exit, which the creature had actually flung her towards. She extinguished the bright light in the ceiling and the spectators could no longer see anything, they only heard the laboured breathing of the Champion.

It was an eternity later when a light flickered on the screen, she had made it back to the narrow corridor. There was an ecstatic scream that started from her fellow students, and soon everyone was cheering. "Hermione! It's okay, she okay!"

The screen was showing a witch and a wizard looking down at her worriedly, but there was a quick shake of the screen (her head) and she cast a few spells on herself before she stood up, trembling slightly, but without any support.

It took her a while to come back out, but when she emerged, robes caked in blood and limping, everyone jumped to their feet and cheered loudly, Harry and Hermione, as well as the rest of the Hogwarts students included. Two Healers that were waiting by the cave mouth helped her as soon as she was out and half carried her over to a tent for medical attention.

"Brilliant! What courage! What determination!" Metaxas's voice echoed over the sound of cheering and Harry definitely agreed. When she emerged again about ten minutes later, there was another wave of cheering and finally she was given her scores, two sixes and three sevens.

The final whistle sounded and Krum stomped out of the tent, barely giving the crowd a glance before entering the cave. When he reached the point where the others had stumbled, he crouched over the skeleton, giving it a brief poke with his wand, before standing up and hurrying forwards.

He stopped by the entrance and used his wand to light the room in an eerie red light, that wasn't as bright as Delacour's spell, but still illuminated the room, and the creature.

He leapt into action before the creature could react. He ran straight forwards, his head darting around looking at the floor. He paused for a second and shot off several spells towards the piles of bones lining the ground. The bones jumped up and hovered in the air and with another flick of his wand they flew out towards the creature that was now turning to face Krum.

"Oh! What… a… spell..." Metaxas seemed to be lost for words and muttering broke out from the crowd.

"Reanimating dead things is very dark magic!" Hermione hissed under her breath. Harry looked around and could see several of the people watching, especially the older ones, were clearly showing signs of anger.

It might have been dark magic, but it was still quite impressive, even though the bones were doing little more than bumping into the creature and causing it to flail about, trying to bite it or swipe at it with it's claws. Krum didn't stop his attack and moved even closer until he was standing only a few feet away, then he raised his wand and launched a spell directly at the beast's face.

The bright blue flash hit the creature in it's eyes and it let out a roar of pain and anger as it stumbled around blindly, lashing out every time the bones touched it's skin. Unfortunately for Krum, it had been standing near the centre of the cavern, very near the well he was meant to be gathering the water from, and it crashed into it tearing it from the ground, leaving chunks of stone and the scattered remains of the statues all over the room, while the water spilled all over the floor.

He let out a low growl of frustration and headed towards the broken well, while giving the white lizard a wide berth. He ducked the tail and fell onto one knee and used his wand to siphon some of the water into a goblet that he transfigured from a skull that rolled his way. Harry frowned at the screen, it seemed there weren't any feathers in the water, but what looked like strands of dark black hair floating on the surface. "That's different..."

"Yeah..." Hermione agreed, then she let out a gasp, alongside most of the people in the stands, as Krum turned around to find himself face-to-face with the reptilian creature. It looked like it was blinking rapidly in the dim light, possibly still under the effects of the spell Krum had used against it. He took a single, very slow, step backwards, only moving again when the creature didn't react. After taking several of these steps, it almost looked like he was going to be able to get out of there without a scratch, but unfortunately for him, there was a loud echoing crack from under his foot. The beast instantly turned towards the source of the noise and charged.

Krum stood his ground, launching several spells, including the one he had used to temporarily blind the creature, but it kept it's head down, with the lower half of it's face almost dragging along the floor to avoid the flashes of light. Even as it neared, Krum remained standing, with his shoulders squared and his wand carefully balanced in his fingers, but instead of charging directly at the young wizard, it used its claws to dig up a clump of dirt and dust and threw it towards Krum.

The screen was filled with dust. A hacking cough and a cry of pain, growls and roaring from the creature and finally the dust settled. The screen showed the ceiling of the cavern, stalactites and what looked like thick roots of a tree, but it was completely still. There were gasps of shock and everyone stood up. Even the judges were off their seats, Headmistress Edda was running with surprising speed with Headmaster Riddle just behind her. But before they could enter, Viktor Krum stumbled out, still coughing and trying to dust off the dirt covering his face.

* * *

For several days afterwards, the first task of the Triwizard Tournament was the only thing that anyone could talk about. Peril, excitement and, most importantly, the fact that no one was killed made excellent conversation and left them all wondering what would be in store for the three Champions during their next task.

Krum's little show of 'dark magic' was cleared up soon after he emerged, when the hidden Auror's following him up went into a whispered discussion with the judges. Mr. Metaxas praised loudly to the crowd, that Krum's inventive use of the Levitation Charm and Banishing Charm had earned him an eight. He had two nines and two further eights, including one from Headmistress Edda who, from what Harry had learnt from rumours, had been more than a little annoyed that her student had used his spells in a way that could be interpreted as dark magic.

However, it did mean that Cedric was currently in the lead, which made all the Hogwarts students extremely proud of their Champion. Cedric was now spending a lot of his time in the library, both the one in the train as well as the one inside Durmstrang Institute, trying to work out the vague hints given to him by the Triwizard Committee. As for the creature itself, after much research by several students, including Hermione, they had managed to discover a creature who's name translated into the menacingly titled 'Malice Striker', a very rare dragon-like creature that was native to Iceland and Greenland. Whatever it was, Harry would have been happy to never see it again and mentally made a note of two places he would try and avoid.

"Harry! I've finally got it!" Hermione came running towards Harry waving something in the air. It wasn't just the rapidly setting sun that was casting a red light on her face, she seemed to be blushing brighter than Harry had ever seen before.

"What is it?" Harry had been waiting with impatience by the front of the castle, but all that vanished the moment he saw his friend.

"Krum's autograph." she said, shoving a scrap of parchment into Harry's hands. "Hopefully Ron will finally stop sending owls asking about it..."

"How did you get it?" Harry asked curiously, they had both tried a few times to find the Quidditch player by himself to get his autograph, but Krum always seemed to be surrounded by friends and admirers. He also didn't turn up for any of the little Quidditch or flying sessions that Harry was invited to, it seemed he was spending a lot of time researching spells for the upcoming tasks, just like Cedric was doing. "And why are you so red?"

If anything, Harry's question seemed to make her more flustered, "I..I.. I was just a bit embarrassed to ask him for the autograph… that's all..."

"What did he do? Was he rude to you?" Harry said, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. His own reactions had been less than kind when people had come to him for his own autograph, it hadn't been intentional unkindness, but one that had come from the confused and rattled mind that raced to find a solution out of the situation.

"No! He wasn't..." Hermione firmly shook her head, defending the Durmstrang boy. "I… We just talked for a bit… I was a bit surprised he knew who I was..."

"What do you mean?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Well… I told you he's in a few of the classes opened to all the schools, but I normally just keep my head down and take notes." Hermione shrugged. "But apparently quite a few students talk about me because I was one of the youngest candidates for Champion, even though I didn't put my name into the Goblet in the end… We just ended up talking for a bit..."

Harry smiled, Hermione deserved the attention. She was, after all, the brightest witch of her age. "So, what did you talk about?"

"Oh… you know… he wanted to know about Hogwarts… I asked him a bit about Durmstrang..." she mumbled vaguely. "...we talked a bit about… Quidditch..."

Harry snorted and stared at Hermione. " _Quidditch_?"

"Well I don't _hate_ Quidditch! I just… and when a professional Quidditch player asks if you like Quidditch, you can't just ignore it!" Hermione was bright red again. "It would be incredibly rude to dismiss a person's whole profession, just because you're not in love with it like every other witch and wizard in the world! Besides, I was asking him for his autograph… even though I mentioned it was for a friend… I couldn't just-"

"Okay, okay. I get it." Harry raised his hands in surrender, but with a slight grin. "You were incredibly brave to get the autograph for Ron..."

Hermione huffed and they made their way back to the train and on the way they saw a group of people huddled behind a building, with two of them sporting very identifiably bright red hair. A witch, a Beauxbatons student by the look of her robes, raised her head when Harry and Hermione neared and after a bout of frantic whispering, the whole group suddenly disbanded, taking off in all directions, leaving behind the two Weasley twins. "Hello Harry, Hermione."

"What were you doing?" Hermione asked warily, before shaking her head. "Actually… I don't want to know… I'm going to go finish my letter to Ron..."

"Send him our love!" Fred exclaimed dramatically to Hermione's retreating figure.

"What _are_ you doing?" Hermione turned briefly to find Harry not following him and stalked off to the train by her self. "I don't want to sound like Hermione… but I don't think it's a good idea to pull pranks here… It might get Professor Riddle into trouble..."

"We're not pranking anyone!" Fred said indignantly.

"Mum was quite clear, said if we were given a chance to go to Durmstrang, that we shouldn't even think about pulling pranks. I don't think we've ever seen her look that cross _before_ we've had a chance to get into trouble..." George shook his head. "And the number of letters she sent us after we passed McGonagall's test. Absolutely no trust, that woman..."

Fred sniggered. "Ah, but Harry. You're someone we _can_ trust, aren't you? Maybe he might be interested?"

The twins shared a look and nodded slightly. George clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Now what we're doing is… strengthening international relations… with a little friendly… wager..."

Harry frowned in confusion before he understood, "You're gambling? Again? Ron told me your mum confiscated all your winnings from that bet you made at the Quidditch World Cup Finals."

"That little loudmouth..." Fred muttered. "We bet half our savings during the World Cup and left half of it for the Triwizard Tournament."

"Is that why you were cheering that loudly for Cedric?" Harry snorted in disbelief.

"Of course not! We want him to do very well." but George was avoiding Harry's eyes.

"Yep. Why wouldn't we want pretty boy Cedric Diggory to win the Triwizard Tournament?" Fred said, with a hint of sarcasm. It seemed they were still slightly bitter about the choice of Hogwarts' Champion. Even after seeing the first task. "Well Harry? Fancy a flutter?"

Harry sighed in exasperation. "I don't think… fine... just a little. One Galleon?"

"One Galleon?" Fred cried out in mock outrage. "You don't believe Cedric can win? How dare you!"

"Fine..." Harry tried to recall how much money he had taken out of Gringotts earlier that year. He had withdrawn quite a lot of money, more than he needed for his shopping that day, but just in case he needed it for some reason. Still, he wasn't that comfortable spending any money gambling, "Three… fine! Four Galleons, no more, for Cedric winning the Tournament. I'll give it to you when we're back on the train."

"Alright then, we'll see you in a bit, Harry." George gave him a wink, "We have… ehem… a few more international friendships to forge..."

Harry scoffed, but let them leave. On his walk back he had been debating whether or not to tell Hermione what the twins were up to, she would most definitely disapprove. The sun had set and the stars started to appear but Harry managed to catch a glimpse of a witch crossing the school grounds in front of him. He hesitated a moment, the Headmaster had warned his students to be careful and not wander alone after sunset, which these days came around the time they were having their lunch and in the coming weeks they would have to endure whole days where the sun would not rise at all.

Even though it was getting dark, there wasn't a curfew, that would have been a bit ridiculous, so Harry started a light sprint towards the figure, calling her name. She only turned to him when he came quite near, "Harry..."

"Corinne… I..." Harry scratched the back of his head nervously. They hadn't spoken since their short conversation on top of the walls and he had spent ages after that thinking about what she had said. "I'm sorry."

"...Why?" she let out a sigh. "You didn't do anything wrong..."

"No, I mean… that you're not getting along with your mother..." Harry met her piercing gaze and tried not to look away. "I… I kind of understand what you're going through..."

Harry held his breath. It felt so strange, he had never volunteered this kind of information to anyone before, even his closest friends had to drag it out of him before he gave anything away. "Harry, have you been up the wall after sunset?"

"What? Erm, no..." Corinne silently motioned for him to follow, leading him towards the walls where a wooden door, painted grey, seamlessly blended in with the stones. Harry stepped forwards to open it and found themselves in a small room, with a tiny spiral staircase leading up. It took them a while, the walls were very tall after all, and Harry finally opened the trap door above and stepped onto the ramparts while breathing quite heavily. "That's… quite… steep..."

"Worth it… I promise..." the witch replied between gulps of air, as she sat down and leaned back to stare at the sky.

Harry followed her example and a small smile formed on his face, as the multitudes of stars sparkled in the distance and from the ether, the gently brushed colours of the Northern Lights were starting to peek out of the dark. It was a sight that he had already experienced more than once, but each time he looking into the sky to see those coloured lights, he was still gripped with a neverending sense of wonder. The day the delegations from the other schools had arrived, Durmstrang welcomed them by replicating the colours on the lake, but it was nothing compared to seeing it it above him in the heavens for the first time.

"You don't get this at Hogwarts..." Harry murmured.

Corinne laughed, "Nor in Beauxbatons… Come on, get up."

She was suddenly standing and after giving Harry a small smile, she awkwardly started climbing the battlements. "Hey! What are you doing, you might fall-"

"Come on Harry! I told you, you won't regret it!" she laughed and extended her hand towards him.

Harry brushed a hand through his hair and sighed. He ignored her hand, afraid of pulling her off balance, and started heaving himself onto the top of the wall as well. He almost slipped off as the breath left his lungs at the brilliant display in front of them. Staring away from the castle and any other signs of civilisation, there was only the dancing green lights in the air and it's reflection on the lake's waters. They sat down, staring at the display in comfortable silence.

An eternity seemed to pass before she spoke again, "...What did you mean… when you said… you understand what I'm going through?"

"I..." Harry's mouth went dry. He almost wanted to take his words back and pretend he never said it. He wanted to say that the Dursleys were fine, just like any other time. He had known people that grew up with Muggles, but Hermione, Dean, Colin and a few others only had good things to say about their relationships with their families. He swallowed nervously and said quietly, "When my parents were killed… I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle, and they don't really like magic, and so… they don't really like me either..."

Corinne stared into his eyes with her own blue ones, "But… you're Harry Potter..."

Harry shrugged and looked away. "The name doesn't mean much to them. They don't know anything about our world."

They were both silent for a long time, then the witch said quietly. "The village we used to live in was attacked during the war. My father died and my mother… she knew about magic, but I don't think she really understood how terrifying it could be until the day they came. Even now she is still scared of it, I can tell, by the way she looks at me whenever I come home."

"I know what you mean..." Harry let out a bitter laugh. The Dursleys used to be afraid of him, but not any more. Not since his little gift from Dumbledore.

They talked for a while afterwards. Harry didn't tell her everything, not about the Charm and certainly not about the cupboard, but told her enough. Corinne told him her own share of stories as well, but Harry could tell, by the tiny hesitations and momentarily fixed expressions that he found familiar, that she wasn't telling him everything either.

* * *

"He's really late..." Hermione said for the third time.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon." Harry replied again, absentmindedly flicking through the textbook in front of him.

Hermione was staring at the door anxiously, "He's never been late before..."

Before Harry could make another half-hearted reply, the door burst open and Professor Riddle strode into the carriage, holding a suitcase by his side. "Come on, you two, we'll be using one of the classrooms upstairs."

The Headmaster walked pass, barely giving them a glance, he was keeping an eye on the suitcase he was carrying, his expression a mixture between excitement and trepidation. Harry and Hermione quickly stood to follow him. They stepped into an empty room, where the Headmaster deposited the suitcase near the front before turning to them.

"Sorry I'm late, it took me longer than I expected to track down one of these. You might not know this, but Professor Dumbledore normally teaches his fourth years how to deal with Boggarts-" Harry and Hermione both turned a wary gaze towards the suitcase, which was now wobbling slightly, before facing the Headmaster again, "Ah, so you know what Boggarts are then?"

Hermione's habit of raising her hand as fast as a military salute had managed to stay with her, despite having no real to do so with just the two of them in the class. "Professor! Boggarts are shapeshifters, they take on the shape of what frightens us the most,-"

"They live in dark enclosed spaces, without a form, so nobody knows what it looks like when it's alone-" Harry had learnt to be slightly more assertive. He didn't need to feel embarrassed about getting things wrong when it was just the Headmaster and Hermione, although she did occasionally send him a miffed look whenever he interrupted one of her answers.

"The best way to deal with them is to have company when you encounter them, since they'll be confused and won't know which frightening form it should assume." Hermione interjected.

The Headmaster looked extremely pleased. "Very good. If we were back at Hogwarts, I'd give you both ten points to each of you. You don't happen to know the spell used to get rid of-"

"Riddikulus!" Harry and Hermione both shouted at the same time. The turned to each other and shared a grin.

"Very good! I'm sure you will have looked up the details about the spell, but since I am supposed to be teaching you, I'll just give you a quick explanation anyway..." the Professor told them about the force of mind that was needed to fight the creature and the importance of laughter. Harry listened carefully, while he felt a slow tension build up in his chest. He knew what would appear when the Boggart turned it's attention to him and desperately he tried to think of a way to make his greatest fear appear amusing. "Any questions? No? Alright then! I think… Hermione, you should go first..."

Hermione licked her lips nervously as she stepped forwards in front of the rattling suitcase. She gave a tentative nod when the Headmaster asked her if she was ready and readied her wand in front of her. The jet of magic from Professor Riddle, who was standing on the other side of the room with Harry, hit the suitcase and it burst open and from the impossibly small space a figure stepped out looking at the young witch with disdain.

"Miss Granger..." Professor Riddle said quietly, not the one standing next to Harry, but the one that had appeared out of the suitcase. Harry quickly shot a look at the real Professor, who was watching quietly with an expression of hurt and disappointment and Harry felt angry at his friend. They had known the Headmaster for three years and he had done nothing that would cause harm to come to them or any other student of his school, how could she think that he would hurt her? The fake-Riddle put his hand into his robes and pulled something out sharply, causing everyone to flinch. It wasn't a wand, like Harry was expecting, but a simple roll of parchment. "I have a letter here from Professor McGonagall. We have discovered… discrepancies in you examination results. We have gone through all the exams you have taken for the past three years and have regraded them, and it turns out, you have failed a large number of them."

As the Boggart started reading out a list of subjects and the failing grades Harry let out an almighty snort and broke down in a fit of giggles. The Professor standing next to seemed to be struggling to contain his laughter and said lightly to his frozen student, "Miss Granger, remember the spell!"

"Oh! Ri..ri..right..." Hermione turned around to give Professor Riddle a look of apology, then levelled her wand at the Boggart. "R..R.. I mean, _Riddikulus!_ "

It was as if there was a sudden gust of wind and the roll of parchment that the Boggart was still reading off of suddenly flew out of his hand and his hair started blowing in all directions. The fake-Riddle tried his best to flatten down his hair without much success and eventually it ripped away from from the top of his head, leaving him completely bald and startled at the sudden sound of laughter coming from the room. Harry was laughing so hard, he was having difficulty breathing, as the Boggart kept trying to chase after his 'wig'. Even the real Headmaster was chuckling mirthfully at the sight, "Very well done, Hermione! Now move back and let's see what Harry can do."

The laughter instantly left Harry, but he gritted his teeth and stepped forwards, accepting the encouraging pat on the back from Hermione as she walked pass him. There was a crack of noise and the Riddle-Boggart that had finally caught up with the wayward hair instantly changed into the form of Albus Dumbledore.

" _Riddikulus!_ " Harry whipped out his wand and shouted out the incantation before the Boggart could do or say anything. The elderly wizard faltered for a moment, as the long white beard started growing rapidly. Harry had imagined the facial hair growing so long that the Boggart tripped over it, but before it could extend to that length, Dumbledore shook his head rapidly and took a step towards Harry. That single motion set him off in a panic and he started shooting off other spells, Stunning Charm, Impediment Jinxes and anything else his desperate mind could think of, but the creature didn't seem to be affected and only shrugged off the bright flashes and sparks and came ever closer to the terrified boy.

"Harry! Calm down! Concentrate on the image you have built in your mind!" Riddle's voice was sharp and Harry took in the words, but incantation after stuttered incantation seemed to have no effect.

"Harry!" Hermione's shriek echoing in the room, Dumbledore's arm shot forwards and a wrinkled hand grabbed Harry by the throat. His wand clattered on the floor and Harry tried to pull the tightening hand away from him, as he slowly felt a cold chill spreading from his body.

And for a moment Harry was back in his bedroom at Four Privet Drive, alone again and without friends, surrounded by indifference. And he started screaming.

Suddenly the pressure lessened and he took in great gulps of air and he felt someone standing next to him. "Hermione! Get him out of the room! Get out and don't look back!"

There was someone else on his other side, his arm draped around a shoulder and he half walked and was half dragged towards the door. The Headmaster's words just barely registered with him but he couldn't help but look back, just to make sure Albus Dumbledore wasn't following him.

For a moment Harry though that it had changed back to Professor Riddle, but the man standing beyond the real Headmaster seemed a lot younger, perhaps a man in his twenties. Over his shoulders he saw piercing green eyes, glowing unsettlingly above the sneer firmly planted on his mouth. And above the eyes, under the messy and unruly hair, he saw a scar, one that he would recognise anywhere. One that he would recognise, since it was the same lightning bolt shaped scar that he saw every time he looked into a mirror.

* * *

 **A/N**

Woo~ reached 100 favourites! Thank you everyone!

I think this ended up being the longest chapter I wrote, largely due to the first task. I hope it didn't feel too repetitive, I tried to show a bit of variation on how the Champions approached it, but there wasn't much else I could do if I wanted to keep it in the story. I also hope you don't mind the whole thing with the screen. It's a bit 'Muggle', but once again, there was no other way I could write about the task without having Harry actually compete, which I didn't want to do.

Also, I want to point out if there seems to be any feeling that Harry and Hermione dislike Ron, that it's completely unintentional. With all that's going on in Durmstrang, I've only been able to put in bits and pieces of what's going on back at Hogwarts through the letters. There are a lot more letters going back and forth, and the occasional 'facetime' with Remus' mirror, that's happening outside of what I'm writing. As much as I wanted to bring Ron along for the ride, I really couldn't justify him being allowed to go with Harry and Hermione. In fact, I think it was a bit of a stretch bringing Hermione along, but I really didn't want Harry to go by himself!

One final thing, I'm writing as much as I can, but I'm out of chapters to post! I have about half a chapter that's completed, and I'll probably finish that before next week, but after that I'm not sure... I really want to finish Year 4 without a break and I'll try my hardest. Words of encouragement will help. =D

Thank you again for the lovely reviews! It's always great to hear from you! And thank you to everyone that's following/favouriting my story! (100 favourites! YAY!) Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I'll see you next week! Until then, I wish you all well!


	31. Year 4 - Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Seeing Green, Feeling Blue**

 _Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!_

 _I can't believe I'm actually holding this! I keep re-reading your letter about the Quidditch game you played with him and I never get bored of it! Of course you couldn't beat him Harry, I know you're good, really good, but he's VIKTOR KRUM, the best Seeker in the world! By the way, how did you get the autograph, are you friends now? Maybe you could invite him to stay over at the Burrow next summer when you're over here, Harry?_

 _Speaking of Quidditch, you'll be pleased to hear that Gryffindor lost horrendously against Slytherin (I'm being sarcastic if you couldn't tell). McLaggen, the complete idiot, actually left the goalposts in an attempt to… actually we have no idea what he was trying to do, but he ended up crashing into Alicia when she and Malfoy were going for the Snitch, I think we could have actually won if it wasn't for him. I hate that Gryffindor lost the match but Alicia was so annoyed with him, he's being benched and I'll be playing Keeper during the next match!_

 _Have you had any letters from Sue or Ernie recently? They've been spending a lot of time by themselves, I'm wondering if something's wrong-_

"Didn't you get an owl from Sue yesterday?" Hermione nodded slightly at Harry's question. "What did she say?"

Hermione shrugged, evasively turning away from Harry's curious stare. "Not much..."

"Did he finally ask her out or something?" Harry asked with a smirk.

Hermione blushed slightly but there was a pleased grin tugging at the corner of her lips, "Well, if he did, it wouldn't be my place to tell."

"But he did, didn't he?" Hermione didn't reply and turned back to the letter.

 _-they don't seem ill or anything, I'm wondering if I should confront them about it or something?_

 _Harry, are you still coming over for the holidays? Mum's saying you might be spending Christmas Day at Durmstrang, but you'll have a chance to visit the week before? She isn't saying much, but she says you'll be able to tag along with Fred and George to get here, I'm not really sure what she means. And Hermione, we should meet up at Diagon Alley or something if you have some time!_

 _Well, I'm sure you have more homework to do. Lessons with Professor Riddle seems terrible, all that extra work sounds like a nightmare!_

 _Ron_

* * *

"A dance?" Harry muttered, blinking uncertainly.

"Yes, a dance. The Yule Ball is traditionally held on Christmas day on the year the Triwizard Tournament is held." Professor Riddle explained to his gathered students. "It's a time where the students can relax and mingle, building lasting friendships with those from the other schools. The Champions, that's you Cedric, will be expected to lead the first dance of the evening with their partners."

Sylvia broke away from her giggling and put her hand up, "Professor, a few of us didn't have a chance to shop for dress robes during the summer, we didn't know if we would be here for Christmas."

"Ah, that's the second thing I wanted to talk about." the Headmaster nodded. "A day before the holidays begin, a little box will be delivered to each of the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students, courtesy of the European Ministry. Inside will be a Portkey that will activate on the command 'go', to take you to your homes. You will be able to use it once to get there and once to come back, so you should be able do any shopping you need."

The Headmaster gave them a few more details about the upcoming event and answered some questions from his students, but Harry was only half listening. Officially, his home would be listed as Four Privet Drive, and he would really rather avoid the place until he had no other choice but to go there in the summer.

"Harry." Fred whispered.

"Huh?" Harry broke away from his thoughts.

"Mum sent us an owl, says we should bring you along with us." George said.

Harry's eyes widened and his face broke into a grin. "That would be brilliant! Can more than one person use a Portkey though?"

"Of course." Fred nodded.

"Thanks!" Harry sighed in relief.

"Don't mention it." George muttered. "Mum would actually kill us if we turned up without you."

Harry laughed at the joke as the Headmaster asked one last time if anyone had anything else they needed to know. "Alright then, Cedric and Harry, I need a word with the two of you."

"Are you okay?" Harry asked his roommate while waiting for the others to leave the room.

"Yeah, sorry I work you. Again." Cedric gave a tired smile. After a lot of research, his next steps in preparing for the second task involved taking a small sip of the water he collected during his first task before going to sleep. Apparently this let him see, or rather dream, about the challenge he was about to face and unfortunately for Harry, this meant one or two occasions when he was woken by Cedric's half-mumbled, half-shouted exclamations in his sleep. "You could still probably ask the Headmaster for your own room."

"It's fine." Harry was happy with the fact that he had to share a room with someone else. When he first arrived at Hogwarts, it had taken him some getting used to, but by now hearing others in the room at night was a slight comfort. Cedric shrugged as Professor Riddle approached them.

"Cedric, you're okay with dancing in front of others, right?" the Professor asked all of a sudden.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Cedric gave him an uncertain grin.

"Sorry, I had to ask. One of the previous Champions a few years back had a... slight aversion to dancing in public and it took quite a lot of persuading from all three Headmasters to get him to find a date." Cedric laughed at the Headmaster's words, but Harry was only feeling relieved, once more, that he wasn't a school Champion. "It seems a bit silly, but with it being a big tradition and all…"

Professor Riddle's expression sobered up as he turned to Harry after Cedric left them. "How are you today?"

"I'm okay. I'm looking forward to… actually I'm not, but I'm prepared to go up against the Boggart again." after the terrible first attempt, he had tried a few more times to face the fake-Dumbledore. He had yet to banish the creature completely, but he was slowly improving and could now face his fear without completely losing his head. It was a stressful thing to go through, but he was glad to be doing it, since Albus Dumbledore, the real one, did turn up once or twice at the school and he was getting used to seeing him without breaking out into a panic. He had yet to be approached by the man, but he was expecting it to happen before the end of the year, so he wanted to be prepared.

"Actually, something's turned up and we won't be able to practice the spell today." the Professor said apologetically. "But there is something else I wanted to talk to you about..."

"...Professor?" Harry swallowed nervously. He wondered if the Professor was going to talk about what the Boggart had changed into when it had turned it's attention away from Harry and towards the Professor himself. The Headmaster had had his back turned and never noticed Harry watching and Hermione was too busy struggling to get her friend out of the room and never saw the form. Harry didn't mention it to anyone, pretending he didn't see it either and spent many sleepless nights picturing it over and over again in his mind. Even after several muttered denials to himself, he knew what he had seen that day. Older and immeasurably colder, but it was Harry Potter that the Headmaster feared above all else, as much as Harry feared Albus Dumbledore. And as much as he wanted an explanation, he didn't think he would like whatever answer Professor Riddle would provide, so he kept quiet. But he wasn't a good enough actor to feign ignorance, and couldn't completely hide the fact that he felt slightly betrayed at form of the Professor's Boggart. He unconsciously distanced himself from the Headmaster, telling Hermione that he was still a bit rattled after facing the creature, which she seemed to believe. But he tried to work harder, throwing himself into more research and practising more spells, hoping to redeem himself in the Professor's eyes, from whatever reasons he had for fearing him.

"It's about the Portkey that will be arriving for the Christmas holidays." Professor Riddle said worriedly at Harry's expression. "I'm correct in thinking you are planning on spending Christmas with the Weasleys?"

"Yes, Professor." Harry stifled a sigh of relief, smiling slightly. "I already talked to Fred and George, they said I can go along with them. I won't have to go back to Privet Drive."

Riddle didn't look pleased. "Do you remember at the start of the year, I said it would be a good idea for you to speak to your relatives before returning for the summer?"

Harry looked away, "It's… I don't really have anything to say to them. Hopefully with the Charm gone it'll be actually bearable for the next three years..."

"Even so, it might be good for all of you to clear the air before going back to stay with them for the summer." Riddle insisted.

"You already talked to them, didn't you? I honestly don't expect much from them. The letter my Uncle sent, giving me 'permission' to go to Hogsmeade..." Harry snorted as he thought about the letter covered in holes somewhere at the bottom of his trunk, "… I can tell he isn't happy with whatever you told him, he still sounds pissed off."

"Language, Harry." Riddle admonished him lightly. "And… no, he wasn't pleased with what I said to him, but I managed to convince him, and your Aunt, to try a bit better to accommodate your needs for the next few years."

"...Then it should be fine when I turn up for the summer..." Harry retorted stubbornly.

The Headmaster looked at him and sighed. "Is there no way I could convince you to do this?"

Harry just shook his head.

He spent the rest of the afternoon with his nose stuck in a book he found in a library concerning Non-Human Spiritous Apparitions, which had a detailed section on Boggarts. He also read about Dementors, Poltergeists and another creature he was more than a little familiar with, Erisians. It had little more about Erisians than he already knew, in fact, between him and everyone else that had been present in the room when they finally defeated the creature, they could probably come up with a lot more helpful information on the subject. It was still interesting to read, but today he couldn't really concentrate on the words.

Giving another look at the clock hanging on the wall, the third time in the last five minutes, he decided he would just get there slightly early. Hermione was off with a whole afternoon of her extra classes at the school, so Harry was going to meet Corinne again. They kept their friendship discreet, the reason they had become friends was something neither of them were comfortable discussing with others and Corinne also wanted to avoid the attention that came along with being friends with the Boy Who Lived. Only Hermione was really curious about how he was spending his free time and Harry did tell her that he had made a friend from Beauxbatons. He had, unfortunately, let it slip that this new friend was a girl, something that Hermione found highly amusing, even when Harry snapped at her for teasing him.

He didn't like her _that_ way, at least he didn't think he did, but he had shared with her something that he hadn't willingly shared with anyone else. They didn't spend all the time discussing how miserable their summers were, in fact they rarely talked about it after that first time, instead exchanging stories about their schools and teaching each other easy little spells they could use for jokes and pranks. He just liked the fact that if he wanted to, he could talk about it without expecting her to look at him in pity, and he would do the same for her.

There was heavy snowfall, there had been all week, but the ground itself was completely clear of any snow, thanks to a spell woven into the island. With the amount of snow that fell, sometimes all year around, the whole place would have been buried under ice long ago if not for magic. Still, the white flurry fell onto anyone outside, only vanishing when it was brushed off onto the grass. Harry tightened his cloak around his body, shivering slightly, and started walking faster.

Harry was heading towards the concealed door leading up to the top of the walls, it had become the place they would go to when they wanted to meet and talk. He was passing by a building he had walked by several times before, although he wasn't really sure what was inside, when he heard a voice from inside. He would have ignored it and continued walking if not for the fact that the first two words he heard was his own name. "I'm worried about him. I feel I should be doing something, that I should just tell him instead of leaving him in the dark..."

He thought it sounded like Professor Riddle and as another man started to reply, Harry raised his hand to rub his temples, he was starting to feel a slight headache, as if something was telling him he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "You still haven't told me what it is you are keeping from him, Tom."

"Jørgen… you must keep this a secret. Swear Jørgen, swear you won't tell a soul." it was the Auror, Rosencrantz.

"I swear I will not breath a word of it outside this room. What is it?" at the whispered question, Tom Riddle let out a breath and Harry leaned forwards, despite the growing headache and strained his ears.

"The Nullificare Charm, did you hear one was assigned to him over a year ago?" Riddle paused and must have received a response, since he continued a second later. "I think it's done more to him than allow him to control unintentional magic. I… I believe it changed something deep inside of him, changed him for the worst."

Harry had to press his fists to the side of his head for a moment, trying to squeeze the pain away. "-ne young man. He's been to all of my classes and I see nothing that indicates what you are suggesting. Is there some reason you believe this?"

"A prophecy… was made… some time ago and… there is a possibility that it concerns... Harry Potter..." Harry had his head against the timber walls, his eyes closed and listening intently.

"And?" Harry winced at the growing headache and tried to take short, shallow breaths without giving himself away.

"The prophecy says… that he will… bring about darkness, burning the land and skies, leaving death in his wake… that he will bring turmoil to the world, the likes of which had never been seen." Harry felt his lungs empty in a rush. He felt his knees shake and he took a quiet step back. He still heard the Headmaster talking, but he didn't register any of the words. His hand dropped to his side, absentmindedly noting that the headache had stopped, but he felt a cold chill in his bones and a numbness so reminiscent of his summer, he thought he was going to be sick. He took another step backwards, then another and another. Then he started running and didn't look back.

* * *

"Ready?" Fred asked excitedly.

"Hold on, wait for Harry." George said with a grin. "I think he's about to break into song."

Harry's face was frozen in a dazed expression, looking as if he was about to say something but had forgotten what it was. Then he let out a loud sneeze before wiping his nose with the sleeve of his robes, while ignoring the shrill, excited jabbering coming from the ground underneath him. He clutched the bag he had packed, with some clothes and other essentials he would need for the next few days, before reaching out towards the object in Fred's hand. It was a gold badge with two letter 'T's made from a purple glass attached onto it. Harry sniffed, "I'm good..."

"Alright then! Let's GO!" with that Harry felt himself lurch forwards, as if an invisible force was dragging him by his intestines, lifting him off his feet. He closed his eyes shut, cursing silently, but furiously, about all forms of wizarding transport that didn't involve having something solid firmly underneath him. His feet slammed into solid ground and would have fallen over if not for Fred and George clutching his arms tightly.

"HARRY!" he opened his eyes at the familiar voice. Ron was beaming at him as he stood up from the couch, dropping the magazine he was reading.

"What about us?" Fred said sounding hurt, but with a smirk on his face.

Ron rolled his eyes. "MUM! They're here! Harry are you alright?"

Ron took one look at Harry, who was looking very pale, and frowned in worry. Harry was about to ignore this question and say hello to his friend that he had sorely missed for weeks, but when he opened his mouth, these words came out instead, "I think I'm going to be sick..."

"Come on Harry, bathroom's over here..." George pushed Ron aside and dragged Harry quickly alongside him, until he was leaning over a toilet bowl, heaving the contents of his stomach inside.

"Oh dear, was it the first time he's used a Portkey?" Molly Weasley's worried voice came from behind him.

"Yeah, but it's not Portkey-sickness, at least I don't think it is… He has the flu, he's been ill for the past week." George explained to his mother.

"Sorry, Mrs. Weasley... I probably shouldn't have come." Harry murmured, staring glumly at the chicken soup he had eaten for breakfast.

"No need to be sorry, dear. You're always welcome here." she leaned in and gently rubbed Harry's back. "George, see if we have any Pepperup Potion left..."

"I have some here..." Harry said, patting his pockets. After he learnt about this supposed prophecy, he spent a long time wandering the grounds at Durmstrang Institute, eventually settling down in a secluded spot away from prying eyes. He sat there, not really noticing the snow accumulating on top of his head and robes as he stared blankly into space, lost in his thoughts. When he made his way to the Hall for dinner, he was already starting to feel another dull headache and was feeling dazed and sweaty. He was taken to see a healer at Durmstrang, and was promptly diagnosed with unflubenza, flu for short. It was very similar to the Muggle illness of the same (shortened) name in all but one aspect, any particularly vicious sneezing caused him to expel thick green mucus that, on contact with the ground or any other surface, started singing and dancing for a good minute before melting into a slimy puddle. There wasn't a cure for it, but the Pepperup Potion lessened a lot of it's symptoms. Other than that he was prescribed bed rest, lots of fluids and advised to bundle up tightly until he was completely cured.

"Alright then, let's get you up to Ron's room and you can take one and have a lie down until dinner." she helped him onto his feet, steadying him when he started to sway slightly.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley… but I don't think I should sleep there…" it wasn't highly contagious, not unless he sneezed directly into someone's face, but he had found out that a single sneeze in the middle of the night was enough to wake the occupants of the room with the high pitched screeching that followed. In the morning, he apologised repeatedly to a very tired looking Cedric, and immediately asked the Headmaster for a new room.

"Oh… well, you can stay in Bill and Charlie's old room for now." Harry allowed himself be led up to the room and changed into his pyjamas when Ron brought him his bag that he had dropped when he arrived. "Ron, off you go now, Harry needs his rest."

"I don't mind staying up for a bit, Mrs. Weasley. I'd like to catch up with Ron..." Harry said, sitting on the bed.

She stared at the two boys, both pleading at her with their eyes. She sighed and relented, "Just for five minutes, no more. And Harry, you're to stay in bed, understood?"

They nodded and she left them alone. Harry gave his friend a sheepish grin. "What I meant to say was, hello Ron."

"Yeah, I thought it was a bit rude of you to take one look at me and say you're going to be sick." Ron snickered.

They talked for a while, mostly stuff they'd already put in their letters, but there was some things that couldn't properly be conveyed in writing, such as the first task of the Tournament. Harry felt relaxed, listening about the goings on at Hogwarts, the Quidditch, the lessons and the gossip, and Harry could almost imagine he'd never gone to Durmstrang this year, could almost pretend he'd never heard his Professor's words.

"-Yeah, so apparently Sue and Ernie are a couple now. Anyway, how's Hermione? Was she-" Ron was interrupted by a loud bellow of a sneeze from Harry and they stared in silence at the dancing green glob on the top of the sheets. Their eyes met and they both burst out laughing. "That's so gross..."

"It really is, isn't it? And _that's_ a proper reaction, not like your brothers..." Harry laughed between coughs.

"Oh Merlin, what did they do?" Ron asked curiously.

"They..." Harry grimaced. "...collected some of the… stuff… saying they wanted to see if they could make something out of it? I didn't ask, I really didn't want to know..."

"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes..." Ron muttered, shaking his head. "Actually, if they could get rid of all the other nasty effects of the flu, it might make quite a good prank..."

Any further conversation was cut when Mrs. Weasley burst in the room, sternly telling them that they had been talking for over ten minutes. She shooed her youngest son out of the room, watched Harry take the potion, vanished the green goo with her wand and finally left when the boy fell asleep.

* * *

"He's running a fever, oh, do you think we should take him to St. Mungo's?"

 _Mrs. Weasley. Green flash. Dead._

"… It doesn't seem as bad as that. Is there a towel somewhere? Right, _Aguamenti._ This should help…"

 _Mr. Weasley. Green flash. Dead._

"Mum… is he alright?"

 _Ron. Green flash. Dead._

"Ron! You should be in bed."

"We all heard him shouting..."

 _Ginny. Fred. George. Green flash. Green flash. Green flash. Dead. Dead. Dead._

"He'll be fine, just go back to bed..."

 _Hermione. Green flash. Dead. Ernie. Green flash. Dead. Sue. Green flash. Dead._

 _Sirius. Remus. Hagrid. Professor Riddle. Professor McGonagall. Cedric. Corinne-_

 _Greenflash._ _Greenflash._ _Greenflash._ _Greenflash._ _Greenflash._ _Greenflash._ _Greenflash-_

 _Dead._ _Dead._ _Dead._ _Dead._ _Dead._ _Dead._ _Dead._ _Dead-_

"No… No…! Stop… I don't want to… I'm not… STOP! I won't… I WON'T!"

"Shh… Harry don't worry… You're safe here, we'll take care of you. You don't need to do anything you don't want to… you do _n't have a choice… It's inside you. The taint… the evil… you will destroy those around you… you will destroy those you love..."_

"I won't… I won't..." Harry sobbed, fighting against the cooling sensation he felt against his brow. But it helped and he eventually calmed down to a continuous whimper. And when he finally fell asleep again, he dreamed of the black haired wizard, with glasses and a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, staring at him with a cold smile on his face.

* * *

"HARRY!" Sue's excited squeal made the boy wince slightly, but he gave a nervous wave at the approaching figures.

Hermione, Sue and Ernie, the last two who were linking arms, immediately spotted the two boys as they stepped out of the fire and into the Leaky Cauldron. They rushed over and the new couple greeted Harry warmly, with hugs and handshakes. There was another flash of light behind them and Mrs. Weasley appeared. "Everyone here? Okay, I want everyone back here before sunset. Are you sure you'll be alright by yourselves?"

Harry noticed her gaze linger on him slightly longer than on the others. Ron rolled his eyes, "We'll be fine, mum. Diagon Alley's packed, no one's going to cause any trouble here..."

It had taken some doing, but the night before Ron had finally managed to convince his mother, with help from Mr. Wesley, that the teenagers could go off shopping by themselves. But even now, the plump witch looked as if she regretted this decision and almost looked as if she would secretly try and follow them. She sighed and nodded, "If you're sure then… take care. And be back before sunset, I mean it!"

They let out a chorus of "Yes, Mrs. Weasley." (and one "Yes, Mum."), before stepping out into the crowded Alley. And it was _very_ crowded indeed. Harry had never been here during Christmas time and it almost looked like half the wizarding population of Britain were out there, shopping for gifts. It was a bit of a struggle to weave their way around the crowd, apologising and being apologised to as they bumped into people. Thankfully, it also meant that no one noticed Harry, especially with a red woollen hat covering his black hair and scar.

They walked in a tight group, with Harry stuck in the middle, partially to keep his presence hidden, but also because he was still looking slightly pale. After taking a turn for the worst the night he arrived at the Burrow, he started to recover, and a few days before the planned visit to Diagon Alley, he could finally let out a sneeze without hearing the squeaking song afterwards, which the whole of the Weasley household celebrated, with Mrs. Weasley cooking some of Harry's favourite things.

As much as he hated being ill for the weeks leading up to Christmas, in a way he was extremely grateful for it. Even now the words of the Prophecy echoed in his mind, and he definitely wouldn't have been able to find an excuse for his unpleasant mood without revealing the truth. But he hadn't spent the whole time sulking. Professor Riddle eased up on the lessons, instead giving Harry some time to do some reading on whatever subject he chose. He delved into the deepest corners of the library to find any books he could on the subject of prophecies and divination and brought them to his room, along with a few books on his other classes, in case someone questioned his sudden interest on the subject.

What he found in the books were a lot of conflicting bits and pieces of information. While some books claimed that once a prophecy is made, it will always come true, some texts said that prophecies were not infallible and it was the books that had these theories that he read through from cover to cover. As with his own textbooks on divination, the writing was vague at best and the information wishy washy, and being ill certainly didn't help him find what he desperately wanted to know either.

But he clung onto every word that told him that the prophecy that he had overheard might never come true, and there was even one passage that said a strong enough will could even break a prophecy, making him feel ever so slightly better. He kept repeating these words over and over again in his mind and as his illness slowly healed, he felt his depression lifting very slightly. Not enough to forget about the whole thing, but enough to get out of bed each morning and pretend to the world that there was nothing wrong with him other than his struggle with the flu.

"Where to first?" Ernie asked, standing at the front of the group ready to lead them on.

"Well… I think we should get our dress robes first." Hermione turned to Harry, who didn't bother stifling his groan.

Harry was still trying to find a way to avoid going to the dance and Hermione was trying her best to convince him it might be fun. "Fine, let's get this over with..."

Hermione and Sue started to whisper excitedly before rushing off, the boys at their heels. Harry blindly followed them into the shop which had a variety of colourful robes on display being browsed by numerous customers, with a large proportion seeming to be witches. The boys stood back, feeling slightly uncomfortable as Hermione and Sue quickly went through the selections one by one, each time deciding it wasn't really suitable.

"Er… Harry," Ernie nudged the boy. "Don't you need to get one as well?"

Harry let out a sigh. "I'm still hoping to skip the whole thing… I don't _dance_ , and-"

"Harry! Come on, it'll be fun!" Hermione quickly whirled around facing the reluctant boy. "And I'm sure you won't have to dance if you don't want to, it's meant to be a chance for the students of the three schools to come together and get to know each other."

"I don't think I'll enjoy that either..." Harry muttered, but quietly enough that Hermione couldn't hear.

"Are you two going to be going together?" Ron asked, sounding slightly uncomfortable. "You're meant to have a date, aren't you?"

There was a moment of silence and Harry blushed slightly. "I think it's just the Champions that need to have a date. If I have to go, I'll probably just go alone..."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Hermione said there's a Beauxbatons girl you've become friends with, why don't you ask her?" Sue said cheerfully, while she cringed and shook her head at a bright yellow dress robe Hermione was holding up.

Harry sent a glare in Hermione's direction, who pretended not to notice and moved on to another rack of clothes, but Ron's mouth dropped open, "You have a French girlfriend?"

"No, I do _not_ have a French girlfriend!" Harry hissed, his face becoming uncomfortably hot. "She's just… a sort of friend. And besides, I haven't seen her since Professor Riddle told us about the Ball. I'm sure she already has someone to go with..."

"Well… you've been seeing her quite a lot… It won't hurt to ask her, you know?" Hermione said nonchalantly, before hanging up a puffy purple robe, which seemed to have ugly pink flowers blooming all over the sleeves. "Hmm… you said there's another shop nearby?"

Sue nodded and they moved towards the exit but before they could leave, Harry shot out towards Hermione's back, "Well, what about _you_ and your _Durmstrang boyfriend_?"

Hermione flinched, but continued walked as if she heard nothing. But Ron yelled out, loud enough for the whole shop to hear, "You have a boyfriend?"

"Come on..." Harry muttered as he kept his head down, dragging his friend out of the shop, trying to ignore the curious looks coming towards them.

They visited another three shops, with Harry completely silent, Ron doggedly asking Hermione for the identity of this mysterious 'boyfriend' and Hermione determinedly ignoring the red head, while Ernie and Sue tried and failed to change the topic of conversation. Finally she snapped, "Oh for… It's Krum, Ron, Viktor Krum! He asked me if I would go to the dance with him..."

"He did?" Harry and Ron both asked, looking stunned. Harry knew that Hermione had spent some time with the Durmstrang Champion since she asked for his autograph, but he had no idea they were going to the ball together.

Hermione glared at them, "Yes! He did! Is that so surprising?"

"Yes." Ron let out, before quickly covering his mouth with his hand. Harry sensibly kept his mouth shut. "I mean… no… but..."

The young witch huffed and turned back to rummaging through the dress robes, Ernie and Sue looking very uncomfortable. Harry left the group and started browsing through the men's robes as an excuse to remove himself from any further awkwardness. He slightly regretted mentioning Krum, but she had been the one to tell Sue about Corinne, and ended up bringing her up. A sudden movement behind him started him and he turned around, "Hello, do you need any help?"

A bedraggled looking witch, obviously tired from assisting the onslaught of holiday shoppers all afternoon, gave him a smile before frowning and squinting at his face. A sudden look of recognition flashed in her eyes and Harry quickly said, "I..I'm just looking for some dress robes."

"Well, I'd be delighted to help you!" she beamed at him, dragging him towards a row of robes on display, taking them out one by one and holding them against Harry's small frame, pointing out details that he didn't have time to appreciate by the time they were back in their place a few seconds later. "-and this, ooh, this one's lovely… slightly unusual asymmetric styling, but very fashionable and the green completely complements the colour of your-"

"Not green." Harry quickly said, a half remembered nightmare bringing a shiver down his spine.

She looked at him strangely but nodded, she held out another set of robes. "Well, black is always sensible for whatever occasion, but if you want to stand out from the crowd-"

"Black's fine." Harry said shortly, grabbing the clothes she was holding out. "Thank you for your help, I'll just go pay for these..."

"Wait, don't you want to try them on?" the witch called out to Harry's back.

He turned around briefly, saying "No, thank you. I'll be fine.", before he made his way back to his friends, there was still the tense silence from before. "Hermione, did you find something?"

"Yes… well… either this one, or this one, what do you think?" she said, holding them out in front of her for Harry to judge. One was light blue and the other a deep red, both quite simple in their designs.

"Erm… they're both great… get whatever you think is best." Harry said awkwardly, having absolutely no opinion about either dresses.

Hermione and Sue rolled their eyes and muttered, "Boys...", they obviously had gotten a similar response from Ernie, and Ron, by the looks of it, was still being slightly moody about Krum for some reason.

After a further ten minutes, they finally made their way to the counter to pay for their new dress robes, while Harry tried to ignore the looks coming from the witch that had helped him and her friend, who were staring at Harry and whispering excitedly.

After that they wandered the shops for a while longer, popping in and out to quickly purchase a few Christmas gifts, some with slight difficulty as they were discreetly trying to shop for each other.

They managed to get back to the Leaky Cauldron with some time to spare, but Harry felt thoroughly exhausted and lowered himself with a grateful groan onto a seat, putting down the bags he was holding. Ernie and Sue left them to get them all a warm mug of butterbeer and the three sat in silence waiting for them.

They sipped their drinks quietly making conversation about their year so far, no one mentioning the dance or dates until Ron abruptly said, "Did you say yes?"

"What?" Hermione asked, confused as they had been talking about a Potion that Professor Riddle had taught them to brew.

"Krum, you said he asked you, did you say yes?" Ron gave her a hard stare.

"I don't see why it's-" she said slowly, her eyes narrowed.

"Well, you could go with Harry." Harry tried to kick his friend's foot, trying to get him to shut up, but he ignored it and kept going. "It doesn't sound like Harry has anyone to go with and I'm sure Krum's already got himself a date… he's an international Quidditch player after all. He's probably asked loads of people, you have to be careful Hermione, he might just be leading you on."

Ron gave a self satisfied nod, turning to the others to agree with him, but everyone quickly looked away. Hermione ground her teeth angrily, "...is it impossible for you to consider that someone might actually be interested in me?"

"Well no!" Ron blushed, "But… he's Viktor Krum and you're… You're great… and all.. but..."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply but stopped. She let out a shaky breath and stood up facing away from them, "I… need to… excuse me..."

Sue gave Ron an exasperated look before following her friend. Ron lowered his head onto the mug of butterbeer, muttering silently. Harry was wondering what he could say in this situation, when thankfully, Mrs. Weasley turned up. "Hello, dears! Where are Hermione and Sue?"

"Erm… they went to wash their hands..." Ernie said uncomfortably.

"Oh." she sensed there was obviously something going on. "Well, we can wait for them to-"

"It's fine mum, we can leave now..." Ron stood up, putting his empty mug onto the table with slightly more force than was necessary. Mrs. Weasley frowned at him.

Harry stood as well. "Yeah, Ernie, see you… next year I guess. Tell Sue I said bye."

"Yeah… sure..." Ernie looked towards where the girls had vanished to. "Yeah, keep in touch Harry. Ron, I'll see you when term starts..."

"Yeah, see you." Ron muttered, stalking away towards the fireplace.

* * *

 **A/N**

Wow, lots of first time reviewers! Thank you!

If you don't mind me asking, there's something I'd like your opinions on. It's about the summary for my story, I've been wondering for a while now if it seems a bit... boring or something. Should I change it? Add more info to it? I wanted to keep it a bit vague on purpose so that people could find out about the little changes I've made from canon by reading the story rather than the summary, but I guess if it isn't punchy enough, people won't bother clicking on it... If you're reading this, it means you're all loyal readers (thank you again for that! =D) so I guess it doesn't really affect any of you, but I am greedy for more readers, so... If you have any advice on the subject I'd really appreciate a PM if you can spare a few minutes!


	32. Year 4 - Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **The Yule Ball**

 _Mr. Potter_

 _I hope I find you well. I realised going to Durmstrang Institute was not by choice, but I still hope that you have been able to learn much and find friends away from home._

 _I do have one piece of good news I can give you, I will be arriving at Durmstrang on Christmas Eve to finally relieve you of the Nullificare Charm. I can't tell you what led to this decision, honestly what goes on in the mind of politicians I will never know, but whatever it was, they seem happy with the way you are conducting yourself over there._

 _I am also writing to the Headmaster so he will be expecting me, but I'm afraid I will not be able to stay long, so depending on your schedule it might be best to leave it with him._

 _I wish you a pleasant Christmas._

 _Kendra Dumbledore_

* * *

Harry grunted as he tried to shift the contents of his trunk, which he had yet to unpack properly, in order to find the Nullificare Charm that he had hidden somewhere deep inside. He pulled out a textbook he had left over from his third year and heard a grinding noise of metal and glass. He groaned as he lifted a piece of cloth wrapped around something.

"You okay, Harry?" Cedric asked from across the room.

"Yeah, fine..." Harry sighed as he pulled out a jagged piece of glass, the remains of the Sneakoscope Sirius had sent him. He had left it tightly wrapped inside his trunk, simply because it ended up going off at the slightest provocation, for example Cedric borrowing some ink from Harry's side of the room or the Weasley twins, from all the way down the hall, suggesting a prank they could pull on Cedric's, which also meant Harry's, room. He had no idea when he had broken it, it had seemed fairly solid so hadn't been that careful with it, but it wasn't like he was throwing it across the room to try and deliberately break it, even when it was emitting it's foghorn like noise. He thought back to when he was getting ready to travel to the Burrow, he had been feeling a bit out of it due to his illness and he couldn't remember if the Sneakoscope had been broken at that time, in fact he could probably have broken it himself at that time and not even realised.

He left it on one side, slightly glad that it wouldn't be working any longer, and continued to rummage his belongings until, with a laugh of triumph, he finally found the Charm.

"Is that…?" Even the normally polite Cedric eyed the object Harry was holding up with a certain degree of curiosity.

"Erm… yeah… I'm returning it today..." Harry grinned. He rarely liked to talk about it but finally being able to get rid of it was one of the very few good bits of news associated with the object he held in his hands.

He returned downstairs where Hermione was waiting for him. She reflected Harry's beaming smile with one of her own, genuinely pleased for the first time since they left the awkward mess of a conversation back in England. They talked quietly, sipping hot cocoa provided by the house elves and for once Hermione didn't have a half open book by her side to glance at from time to time. She seemed to be rather excited about the Yule Ball, although Harry hadn't brought up the subject of dates since returning here.

He tried not to look too eagerly at the entrance, remembering the whole thing about the watched cauldron never boiling or something, but eventually the door opened and Professor Riddle stepped inside, followed by Kendra as well as a few stray snowflakes from the light snow that was falling. The students lounging around the room looked at the newcomer curiously as they approached Harry. She gave him a small smile. "Hello Mr. Potter, how are you today."

"I'm great, thanks!" Harry didn't really care about appearing rude at the moment and instantly took the Charm in his hands and held it out for the witch to take.

She opened her hand and Harry gently placed it on her palm. Kendra held it close to her eye, squinting at it slightly, before nodding. "Very good. You last wore it during the summer, yes? You've stayed at Durmstrang during the Christmas period?"

Harry frowned slightly and opened his mouth but the Headmaster quickly interrupted him, "Yes. The Portkey he was allocated wasn't used, you can check if you want."

"No need. No need" Kendra wasn't really paying attention, she was tapping the Charm with her wand, muttering unintelligibly under her breath. He hadn't even considered the fact that he would have to wear it if he left the school. Last year it had been Professor McGonagall that had reminded him, it seemed the Headmaster had purposely left it out. Harry took a brief moment to send a grateful look at the Headmaster, but then he remembered the prophecy and quickly looked away. "Well. This must really be a load off your mind."

"Yeah..." it really was, even though he hadn't suffered from it's effects for ages, it still felt like finally letting go of something heavy he'd been dragging since the summer. The others all smiled at him, then Kendra gave a curious look at Hermione. "Oh, this is Hermione, she's my friend."

The Unspeakable offered her hand to the young witch, "Pleased to meet you Hermione. I am Kendra Dumbledore."

"Hello... You're an Unspeakable." it wasn't a question, but it was obvious there were about a hundred things Hermione did want to ask her.

Kendra let out a laugh, "If you're going to ask anything about my work, I'm afraid my only reply is 'no comment'. If you're that curious, you'll have to come work for us when you leave Hogwarts. I dare say, if you're smart enough to visit the hosting school in a Triwizard year at your age, you'll most definitely be welcome amongst us. Hmm... Ravenclaw, I'm guessing?"

"No. Gryffindor, actually." Hermione said, a pleased blush on her cheeks.

"Are you really?" she said looking mildly surprised. "McGonagall must be pleased to have you in her house."

"She is indeed." Professor Riddle laughed out loud. He turned to the witch with a question, "Miss Dumbledore, will you be attending the Ball tomorrow?"

"The Ball?" she raised her eyebrow. "Well… I am always invited to these things because of my father. He will be attending of course..."

She looked over to Harry, who was clenching his teeth slightly. He forced a slight smile onto his face, "...So, you'll be there as well?"

Kendra let out a snort, "No, I always decline these invitations. Too many questions when they hear the name Dumbledore or that I work as an Unspeakable… I promised Uncle Aberforth I would join him for lunch, my father will have to fend for himself tomorrow. Well, I think that's everything? I should start heading back..."

"May I offer you a cup of tea before you leave?" Kendra gave a slight frown at the question, but nodded. She turned to give Harry an unidentifiable look, one that made him more than a little uncomfortable. "My office is this way..."

"Bye, Miss Dumbledore, thank you for taking the Charm." Harry said as she was led off towards the end of the train. She just smiled in reply. Harry turned to Hermione with a grin, then ran outside into the snow.

He started to jump up and down, his arms raised and shouting in joy. There were a few people in the distance but he didn't care, he finally felt free! Hermione looked at him with amusement, "Harry! You'll catch a cold again!"

"I don't care! I'm freeeee!" Harry bellowed into the sky, almost delirious with joy. Even though he was promised he wouldn't have to wear it again in exchange for coming here, he hadn't expected them to fulfil the promise this soon and not without something in return from him. It had come back to his thoughts from time to time since he overheard the Headmaster, thoughts of how he hated everything to do with it, but now with it gone it felt like a blow against the prophecy that he had been dreading all these weeks. He grabbed Hermione by the hands and spun around, laughing all the time like a maniac.

"Think he finally lost it?" a voice came out the window of the train.

"Oh, definitely." a voice identical to the first replied.

Harry tried to glare at them, but any impression of annoyance was ruined by the smile that refused to leave his face. So instead, he used his wand to gather the snow into a ball, an old spell he learnt during his first Christmas at Hogwarts, and launched it at the red-head closest to him. "Who are you calling crazy!"

"We didn't say crazy!" the twins shouted as they retaliated at Harry, and in turn Hermione, who was standing close.

"Hey!" she shrieked as she ducked a snowball aimed at her head. Narrowing her eyes, she waved her wand, causing not a ball, but a blanket of snow to form near the windows, hanging threateningly over the twins' head.

"Erm… we're sorry?" George said meekly, not taking his eye off the looming avalanche.

"I'm sorry too." Hermione smirked and she flicked her wand down causing Fred and George to yelp as they dropped out of sight after the thick layer of snow slid into the train. They emerged again, their eyes promising revenge when they suddenly turned around, then looked down, towards their feet.

They were talking to someone, Harry heard a few disjoined words mumbled quietly and then the twins turned to point at him and Hermione. Two pointed ears started to rise slowly from the windows. Harry quickly grabbed Hermione's hand and ran, stifling a laugh. By the time they stopped, they were out of breath. Harry was laughing again, but Hermione didn't seem to be able to decide whether she should be horrified at what she had done, or amused.

She ended up giggling as they leaned against a building, "Oh, you are in a good mood, aren't you? I can't say I blame you..."

"You have no idea..." Harry closed his eyes, sighing in relief.

"Hmm… so… Harry… are you going to ask this girl to the Ball?" Hermione asked offhandedly while she brushed the snow off her robes.

"Hermione..." Harry groaned. "Not this again… Besides, it's tomorrow, she probably already has someone to go with."

"I have a friend from Beauxbatons, I can ask her if your friend has a date." Hermione rounded on Harry. "What's her name?"

"I told you! She doesn't want people to know we're friends! She doesn't like the attention." Harry said heatedly. "Just drop it Hermione..."

"Well I'm your friend too! Can't you trust me to keep it quiet?" Hermione sounded hurt.

"...I guess I can..." Harry kicked the grass, avoiding her gaze. "But you know what it's like being friends with 'Harry Potter', and it feels a thousand times worse here than back at Hogwarts..."

"Is she making you keep everything a secret then?" Hermione asked slightly sharply.

"No! Well… not exactly..." Harry sighed in frustration, if the two met, Hermione was bound to ask them what had brought about their friendship, something Harry wasn't sure he wanted to share with his friend.

"Then what's the problem?" Hermione sniffed. "I don't think it's healthy to have such a secret relationship with this person. I know you seem to like her, but you just… vanish somewhere for hours, without telling anything where you go or what you do."

"So?" Harry muttered sullenly, he was starting to get really annoyed with Hermione.

Hermione seemed to deflate and she almost looked slightly sad. "Harry, I know it's been...difficult for you to make friends over here and you're right, the whole thing with..with... Grindelwald is a bigger deal over here. I'm sorry I've been leaving you to go to all the classes they're running at the school, if you really want I can drop a few and we could spend more time together..."

"What?" Harry looked confused. "I don't really mind, it's up to you… I don't understand though, why now?"

Hermione bit her lips, looking unsure. "Well… you started seeing this _friend_ around the time they started all those classes at Durmstrang… Around the time I started getting busy..."

"Yeah. That's when we first met, well actually it's not completely true but..." Harry shook his head. "I still don't understand what you're getting at..."

"Nothing, nothing." Hermione said quickly. "I'm just saying, if you're bored or something, I could use an excuse to drop some of the classes..."

Harry stared at his friend incredulously, Hermione would never willing give up on a chance to get some extra learning done. Even though she was having a bit of difficulty keeping up with the rest of the older students, she always had a flushed look of excitement when she told Harry about the things they had learnt that day. The other thing that felt a bit strange was Hermione's tone of voice which, along side her expression, made her almost sound as if she feeling pity for him. He carefully considered the conversation they'd been having for the last few minutes and a slow flush started creeping over his cheeks. "Yo..you think… I'm… making her up or something?"

"I didn't say that!" but she gave Harry a guilty look confirming that was indeed what she had been thinking.

Harry gritted his teeth and glared at Hermione, his face red with anger and embarrassment. "...I'm not so insecure that I feel the need to make up a friend just so you don't feel sorry for me… If I was spending that time on my own, I would just tell you that..."

Hermione stared into his eyes for a moment then nodded, sighing with relief. "I'm sorry, you're right… I have no idea why I though that… Look, let's get back to the train, I should apologise to Cauliflower and Dibbler for the snow..."

"Right..." Harry turned to follow her, suddenly feeling very tired. He muttered under his breath, "Why on earth would I make something like that up? Of course she's… real..."

Hermione heard him and laughed without turning around. "Right. Of course she is. I was just being silly..."

It took a moment for her to realise she couldn't hear Harry's footsteps following her and turned to face him. Harry looked extremely pale, his eyes wide and his mouth open slightly, a look of confusion and more than a little fear. His eyes met Hermione's and he quickly said, "Y..you go on ahead… I..I need to… do something..."

"Harry? What's wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly, taking a step in his direction.

"I..I.. nothing… I just need to..." Harry finally managed to say, his throat feeling extremely dry. His mind raced as he tried to think back to all the times he was with Corinne, trying to remember if there had been any occasion where they were together with other people. His thoughts ran back to his summer, where figures from his dreams would somehow find their way into his bedroom, and the first day of school, with the corpse-like horses only he seemed to be able to see. He suddenly remembered something and a hopeful light entered his eyes. "You've met her already! The night… on Halloween, I first talked to her on Halloween just before you came and found me. She's the one who told me they were burning the crows… She left just before you arrived… You've probably seen her then..."

"Oh. I..I must have missed her..." Hermione said uncertainly, looking fearful. She carefully took Harry's hand and said gently, "I think we should get back to the train… maybe… maybe you should talk to Profes-"

"NO! I'll… I need to find her..." Harry brushed off Hermione's hand and started running towards the Beauxbatons' carriage.

"Harry, wait!" he didn't, but he could hear her footsteps following him. He didn't slow down until they reached the blue carriage. From up close it looked as big as a three storey house, with the wheels larger than Harry was. Any other detail he completely ignored as he hurried up the steps before pounding on the door.

"Oui?" a boy opened the door and Harry recognised him from his occasional Quidditch games.

"I..I'm looking for Corinne- Erm... I don't know her last name." Harry said hopefully.

He gave Harry, and an out of breath Hermione behind him, a bemused expression, "There's only one person by that name, wait here."

He turned back and called out in French. Harry couldn't understand what he was saying, but he did recognise the sound of her name, but he still felt slightly apprehensive.

"Qui c'est? Dites-le moi sim-" a witch appeared at the door, talking to someone behind her, but she turned and froze when she noticed who was standing there, "Harry."

"Corinne." Harry reached out for her hand, making sure it was solid underneath his fingers. She looked startled, giving a quick look behind her, but didn't say anything. She did, however, look at him with an expression wondering what on earth he was doing here. Harry quickly let go of her hand and blushed brightly, "Er… sorry. I just… Erm… this is my friend..."

"Oh! Hello, pleased to meet you." Hermione said when Harry turned to her for help, and just like Harry, she was looking very relieved. "I'm Hermione… Hello."

"Hello… Hermione." Corinne said awkwardly, looking between the two Hogwarts students, still unsure of how to react, but she gave a small nod towards Harry's friend. "...Corinne. Harry… did you need something?"

"Oh… no… I… erm…" Harry flustered, he felt completely foolish for his overreaction.

There was silence for a second, then Hermione said brightly from behind Harry, "He was wondering if you have anyone to go to the Ball with."

"Hermione!" Harry hissed, his face burning. Corinne looked surprised and more than a little uncomfortable.

The boy that had called Corinne had apparently been eavesdropping and poked his head out of the door and over her shoulders. "She doesn't have a date, she'd love to go with you!"

"Ferme-la!" Corinne blushed, driving her elbow into his stomach.

The boy grunted in pain, but he was grinning at Harry. "She's been, how do you say, a misery guts all year. Maybe you'll be able to cheer her up."

There was murmured agreement coming from inside of the carriage, apparently it hadn't been just the boy that had been listening in on their conversation and one girl went as far as saying, "Non, non! You simply cannot refused Harry Potter!" even though Harry hadn't technically asked her.

"Fine! Fine!" Corinne huffed, shaking her head, "I'll… go with you… Harry..."

A loud cheering broke out, and Corinne growled, sending angry red sparks into the carriage with her wand. She turned back to Harry and waited expectantly, but he could only stand there dumbly, red up to the tip of his ears. Hermione nudged him a few times, but when he didn't respond she said, "He'll be here at ten to eight, alright?"

Hermione grabbed him by the sleeves and dragged him back to the train.

* * *

"Hiya, Harry! Looking sharp!" Harry heard as soon as he stepped off the train.

"Oh… thanks Kat..." he replied, sheepishly letting his hand wander through his hair, completely forgetting the fact that he had spent the last ten minutes trying to get it to lie flat. "Cedric's still getting ready. I thought you were meeting at the gates?"

"I got bored." she laughed. "I'll see you at the Ball Harry!"

"Right… see you later." Harry watched her enter the train before heading off his own way. He still had a good half hour before the agreed time, but he was getting restless waiting in his room and the questions he was getting in the common room about his date from his schoolmates was enough to drive him outside. He just stayed long enough for Dibbler to help him resize his dress robes. The witch had been right, he probably should have tried them on as they were too big, but the house elf was more than happy to fix it for him.

He wandered the grounds, watching students make their way towards the bridge. The Ball was being held outdoors, with the air thankfully warmed for the night. The multicoloured lights in the lake were back with full force, bathing the island in a soft glow. Even though it was as beautiful as the first time he had seen it on the day they arrived, looking at it now Harry found the predominately green hues slightly unsettling.

Eventually, his feet led him to the Beauxbatons carriage, his heart beating in an almost unnatural rhythm. He had only been this nervous when faced with the possibility of serious injury, or death. Actually, he thought this might be worse, in those situations, he didn't have the time to think about it, he just had to react, but this… it felt like long, drawn out torture, which would end in his complete humiliation when he would be expected to dance in front of a crowd. He just hoped Corinne wasn't expecting too much from him.

He was spotted before he made it to the door and a student, the same boy that had been elbowed by Corinne, shouted something into the carriage and came down the steps to meet Harry, sporting a rather smug expression. "You've come empty handed?"

"I… guess so?" Harry replied, not really sure what he was asking.

The boy made a tutting noise while wagging a finger, then produced his wand. He muttered a quiet spell while flourishing it rather dramatically, producing a bouquet of flowers out of thin air. "Here, catch."

Harry fumbled, almost dropping the flowers, and then held it nervously away from his body, almost as if he was holding a bomb that was about to go off. "Thanks… erm… what am I-"

"Harry, hi..." Corinne stepped onto the grass, wearing a dark blue dress, almost black, the only decoration at the bottom of the dress, where silver-white snowflakes appeared around her knees were before gently floating down towards the hem and vanishing. She also had a small purse hanging on her shoulder, it was plain and coloured a dull silver, making it almost look like a moon hanging in the sky as it rested against her thigh. She looked uncomfortable and walked slightly awkwardly towards Harry. "Oh… are those for me?"

"Er… yeah." Harry handed them over. She gave him a slight smile before looking around, as if she was unsure of what to do with them. Harry caught the frantic waving of the boy that had conjured them in the first place, and watched as he mimed something behind Corinne's back. "Oh, you're meant to throw them..."

Corinne hesitated, but shrugged and threw it into the air, directly above their heads. It seemed to freeze in place for a moment, before the petals split apart from the stems and flew away in all directions, looking like a kaleidoscope of dancing butterflies. "They're beautiful Harry..."

"Yeah..." Harry murmured with his mouth open, before he caught Corinne's expression. "I mean… yeah… it's a nice spell..."

"You'll have to teach me the spell..." she smiled at him.

"M..m..maybe later..." Harry stammered, hoping she would forget about it. "We should get going now..."

They crossed the grounds and the bridge, wading through stilted conversation and uncomfortable silence. Finally, Corinne seemed to have enough.

"Oh, for-!" she placed her hands on her hips and shook her head in irritation, earning some curious glances from the others heading the same way. "This doesn't need to be weird. We're friends, we'll just… have a look around, get some food, we don't even need to dance if you don't want to..."

"Oh… you don't mind?" Harry asked, not sure if he was relieved or slightly disappointed.

"It's been a while since I danced, it's not something that I'd been all that eager to do again..." she said and they continued walking, both of them more relaxed than before. The bridge was decorated with flowers and winding pale white ivy, making it look very festive. When they reached the other side, they could finally see where the Yule Ball was going to take place.

At the centre was a vast dance floor, made up of pale wooden planks of wood, and just beyond the edge were several chairs placed in a tight group. A few were already occupied, witches and wizards holding instruments while they chatted with their fellow musicians. On the opposite end of the dance floor, there was another area, with long tables forming three edges of a square, with a mountain of food already laid out on sparkling silver dishes and bowls. In the middle were numerous smaller round tables, looking as if they would seat about four people each. The whole area, from the seated orchestra to the furthermost table of food, was lighted by balls of light that seemed to hang in mid air, giving off just enough heat to make it warm but not at all hot. At the corners were four great pillars that seemed at first glance to serve no purpose, but as Harry neared one, he saw that they were holding up some sort of vast and transparent material that shielded the whole area from the snow, while still showing off the skies to the dancers and revellers.

Harry and Corinne made their way towards the food, giving a gentle nod or a wave at people sending greetings their way. He was quite hungry, he had been too nervous to have a proper lunch and grabbed a plate when it floated towards him as they approached the buffet table. They followed the example of the others that were already filling their plates, by asking for the food they wanted with their plates held in front of them and waiting for an invisible force to serve them quickly and efficiently.

A lot of couples were just standing and chatting while they picked on their food, but Harry and Corinne found an empty table away from the milling crowd. For a while they concentrated on their food, thick juicy prawns with a delicious green sauce and paper thin slices of a red meat served with a lightly dressed salad. It was all that he had asked for at first, and he was eager to try out some of the other dishes on offer. From what he had seen, each of the long tables were serving different things and if he wanted to try each and every one of them, he'd likely have to spend the rest of the day until midnight stuffing his face and would probably end up with a terrible stomach ache.

"Harry!" Hermione turned up holding a plate of food with Krum following close behind her. "Can we join you?"

"Sure." Harry turned to Corinne, and she nodded with agreement. The only real problem was that Krum's arrival had drawn quite a lot of looks towards their table, but he didn't mind too much. Krum turned to Corinne. "Oh, Vi..Viktor? Krum, sorry-"

"You can call me Viktor." the Durmstrang boy said indifferently.

"Oh, alright, erm… this is Corinne. She's from Beauxbatons." Harry introduced her. They exchanged greetings amicably before Harry noticed something, "Hey, where did you get your drinks?"

"Oh, they're at the end of the tables. There's quite a selection, they even have champagne!" Hermione said, before blushing slightly. "It's just meant for the older students and the adults though… I tried taking a sip and it vanished before I could drink any..."

Harry stood up, "No, stay. I'll get your drink for you. What would you like?"

"I'll just have some water then. Thank you Harry." Corinne gave him a smile, which made Harry's heart beat slightly faster.

There was indeed a large selection of drinks, things he recognised like butterbeer and pumpkin juice as well as several others that he didn't. He looked around, picked up a warm mug that wafted the scent of apples towards him. He cautiously took a sip and it didn't vanish, but his mouth was filled with the taste of apples and spices. He also picked up a bottle of water and a clear glass and quickly navigated his way back towards his table.

"Thank you Harry." Corinne gratefully accepted the drink. "I was just telling them about the spell you did with the flowers."

"Why didn't you tell me you knew a spell like that! It sounds amazing!" Hermione insisted he teach them the incantation there and now, but thankfully there was an announcement telling everyone that the first dance would start in fifteen minutes.

"Later Hermione, I promise." Harry hoped his smile didn't look too insecure as he mentally cursed the Beauxbatons boy for giving him the flowers in the first place. "Viktor, what's that on your plate?"

Questioning Krum about Scandinavian cuisine, he managed to distract everyone enough to forget about the flower spell until it was time for the dance. Hermione leapt to her feet, quickly wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "Aren't you coming?"

"You go on ahead, we'll join you later." Harry said unconvincingly. Hermione looked ready to argue for just a moment, but Krum took her hand and with a smile they headed towards the dance floor. Corinne was watching them leave, Harry didn't think she looked like she wanted to join them, but he really wasn't sure at all. "So… erm… how have you been spending the past week?"

"Oh, I just stayed here, reading and stuff." she said casually. "I haven't been back home for Christmas since my first year. My mother usually throws these lavish dinner parties, but ever since I started attending Beauxbatons, it started feeling a little uncomfortable."

"I guess the Ministry wasted their time making those Portkeys for us." Harry snorted.

"I wouldn't have used it even if I had to go back home. My mother remarried a few years ago, and her new husband doesn't know anything about magic. She's adamant he never finds out about it… She would have had a fit if I suddenly popped out of nowhere in the house." she sipped some of her water, leaning back and looking at the three Champions and their partners getting ready. "I presume you spent the week with your friend… Ron was it?"

"Yeah his brothers are here, the red-headed twins, so I took the Por-" Harry froze. "Crap! I mean... I'm sorry… I… forgot we agreed to meet that day... before the holidays started..."

"You… forgot?" she raised her eyebrow at him. "I heard you were ill, I presumed that's why you didn't make it..."

"Oh… yeah… that's what I meant..." Harry quickly corrected himself. "That day was a bit hazy… Did you wait a long time?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter, I can't really blame you for falling ill. And I asked you to keep… whatever this is between us quiet, so you couldn't really ask someone to find me and explain what happened. But… I guess… it's no longer a secret now..."

She gave a hard stare at a group of students who had noticed them, or rather noticed Harry, and were standing there goggling at him. Harry muttered quietly, "Sorry..."

"You were really strange yesterday, did you really just turn up to ask me to the Ball?" she stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"I..." he thought for a moment about telling Corinne, but this was different. She could understand what he was going through with his relatives, but thinking that she might have been a figment of his imagination because he had been seeing things, Albus Dumbledore in his bedroom and a fleshless horse at Hogwarts? He just couldn't. "Yeah… I just thought it wouldn't hurt to ask… I hope you don't mind..."

The orchestra started tuning their instruments and after a few minutes they started playing a lively waltz. Harry followed Hermione with his eyes and smiled, she looked incredibly happy.

He started hearing people muttering behind them, they weren't talking in English, so he couldn't understand them, but he did recognise him name and a quick glance in their direction told him all he needed to know. There were quite a few girls and they were all sending openly hostile looks towards Corinne.

The smile dropped off his face in an instant, but he pretended he hadn't heard anything. He hoped that if he ignored it, they would eventually go away. But Corinne looked as if she not only heard them, but also understood what they were saying. She scowled slightly, before forcing a determined smile as she faced Harry. "I guess I don't mind… but if there's going to be people whispering about us, we might as well give them something to whisper about."

She stood up and offered Harry her hand. He stared at it blankly before realising what she was doing. He gulped nervously and squeaked, "...Really?"

He took her hand and followed her, half dragging his feet, towards the dance floor. There were now other couples, both students and those that looked older, starting to dance. It was a good thing since they were too busy to notice a single couple joining in. For the next ten minutes, but feeling like an eternity, he danced with Corinne. By tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to remember a single detail from it, it would all be a blur, and he would only know what his dancing was like from snickered comments from other students, the most memorable words being, "You looked like an ungraceful marionette being plucked up and down by an invisible force determined to humiliate you."

When the piece of music finally ended, Harry's mind snapped back into place and he quickly detached himself from Corinne. Her lips twitched as if she was trying not to laugh, "You're really not very good at this, are you?"

She didn't say the words with any irritation, only mild amusement. Harry quickly wiped his sweaty palms on the side of his robes, "No… I've never danced before in my life."

"Well, in that case, you were pretty good..." she gave him a wink as they made their way back to the tables of food. Harry grabbed a bottle of cold water and drained it all. He offered one to Corinne, which she accepted gratefully, and took another one for himself and was considering the food when he heard Corinne speak. "Oh, that's Albus Dumbledore..."

Harry stumbled as his head whipped around, finding the figure from his nightmares. He was standing with several witches and wizards, Harry presumed they were all members of various ministries and such organisations. Dumbledore seemed to notice Harry's gaze and for a moment their eyes met, Harry tried to breath as slowly and evenly as he possibly could, trying to remember his lessons about facing the Boggart. Dumbledore gave him a small nod, almost friendly in a way, then turned back to his conversation.

He jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder. "What?"

"I said, do you want to get some more food?." Corinne looked at him strangely. "Actually, maybe we should sit down for a bit..."

"Yeah, okay..." Harry gave one more look back at the elderly wizard but he was still being completely ignored. Sitting down, he could only half concentrate on Corinne's words as he expected Dumbledore to turn up at any second.

"Harry." the boy flinched slightly, "I think someone's coming this way..."

His jaw tightened and he unconsciously reached for his wand, but when he turned around he he didn't see Dumbledore, but an elderly witch giving him a small wave as she made her way towards them. She cleared her throat and said in a hoarse voice, difficult to understand, "Mr. Potter, might I take a minute of your time?"

"Uhh… sure, I guess..." she had been one of those that had been with Dumbledore only moments ago, but her demeanour was completely unlike the older wizard. Her grey hair was held in a loose bun and the wrinkled smile she gave him wouldn't look out of place on a doting grandmother in the process of baking a pie for her grandchildren. The only reason he didn't completely lower his guard, was a scar running around a neck, looking like a pale red choker. She offered him her hand, and Harry noticed several smaller scars on the back of her hand and tips of her fingers, something he had seen before on Sirius, the signs that this witch had been to war.

"My name is Isabella Engrácia, I lead the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the European Ministry." Harry's eyes widened slightly and she chuckled at him. "I get that reaction a lot, but sometimes in my line of work, it is better to be underestimated than over. Excuse me, Miss…?"

"Oh, Lansquenet. Corinne Lansquenet." the Beauxbatons student quickly introduced herself.

"Lansquenet? Was your father named Richard by any chance?" the old witch gave Corinne an inquisitive stare.

"...Yes." Corinne's whisper was barely audible.

"Richard Lansquenet, the Auror?" Engrácia didn't seem to notice the girl's discomfort about the subject.

"Yes… he was an Auror before he..." Corinne trailed off, staring down at the table.

Engrácia nodded gravely, "He was a good man, a good Auror and a hero… How is your mother?"

"She's fine. She's doing well." she said quietly. "She remarried a few years ago, to a Muggle."

"That's good to hear… Miss Lansquenet, I apologise for being so rude, but might I have a word with Mr. Potter, alone?" Corinne stared at her for a moment before standing up.

"I'll be back in a bit." she didn't seem to notice Harry's silent plea to stay with him and walked away.

She waited a moment, then after taking out a wand from her robes, she made a small movement, making Harry flinch slightly. "Not to worry, just for a little privacy. Now, I'll get straight to the point Mr. Potter, as a witch with the European Ministry, I would formally like to ask for your help."

"What do you mean?" he was startled by her words. "I don't think there is much I could do to help..."

"Nothing too difficult, I assure you." she gave him her grandmotherly smile again. "I'm told you have quite a talent for Defence Against the Dark Arts. I assigned Auror Rosencrantz to teach at Durmstrang this year, he has said you show great potential."

"Oh… still… I'm not as good as the others." Harry couldn't help but feel a bit pleased at this compliment.

"No, not yet, but keep up your studies and in a few years you could surpass them easily." she croaked, nodded in agreement.

"I still don't see how I could help..." Harry looked around, noticing for the first time that there seemed to be several people standing around the table. They were engaged in conversations or quietly having a drink or some food, but they were sending discreet glances towards him. They also seemed to have positioned themselves to block the table from view from anyone looking in their direction.

"Don't worry, they're just Aurors, even here they insist on giving me a protection detail." Engrácia gave a light laugh. "Mr. Potter, were you aware of a program here at Durmstrang Institute where a few of the students are given the chance to see and experience Auror work in action?"

Harry shook his head stiffly, still nervous about the people surrounding him. "Even if there was something like that, I'm sure I wouldn't be good enough to be accepted."

"Ordinarily, no. I won't lie to you Mr. Potter, if it wasn't for your past you would not be given such an opportunity at your age." she sighed tiredly. "It is just like the chance you were given to visit Durmstrang this year, you were given special consideration."

Harry frowned, he disliked being treated differently, but he couldn't say he was completely disinterested. "With actual… Aurors? I'd learn how to fight against the Dark Arts?"

"Yes, like you're leaning from Rosencrantz, only it would be a more… applied method of learning." she said carefully, then she let out another sigh, "Let me be completely honest Mr. Potter, we want you to do this so we can drum up some positive publicity about the European Ministry."

"Oh." Harry looked disappointed. "So… I'd just stand around some Aurors and you'd take a few photos or something?"

"Not at all. I assure you, I am completely serious about teaching you how to defend yourself. It's not just because of your fame that we are giving you this chance, but because you might the only fourteen year old in Europe that actually needs to know how to defend himself." Engrácia's face tightened into a grimace as her hand unconsciously rubbed the scar around her throat. Her voice grew thick with emotion and Harry had to strain his ears to understand her, "Even though more than a decade has passed since Grindelwald's fall, his followers are still out there. There's no telling when one of them might make a move and try to bring their dead master's war back to the wizarding world. You already had experience of these fanatics did you not? Even within the tightly warded confines of Hogwarts, you were not unaffected by their plots. You are a target, Mr. Potter. I am sorry to tell you this, but you will always be a target."

Harry stared at her in shock. Even though he had already known this in a way, he had never heard it put so bluntly. He hadn't really thought about Grindelwald for a while now, he had more than enough to worry about without considering the King of Crows. "...Wouldn't I just put people in danger? Since they would have to worry about me as well as doing their jobs?"

"You will not be joining any missions that we don't have complete control over. I would not even consider this if I thought any harm may come to you, my Aurors or any innocent civilians." and in her eyes Harry could see the witch that had survived battles and wars to rise to her current position. Her expression softened slightly as she gave him a thoughtful look, "There is something else to consider. We are woefully understaffed at the moment and if you were to agree to this, it might be a good idea to ask for outside help."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

Engrácia closed her eyes and tapped her chin with her wand. "I am told you are quite close to a British Auror, Auror… Black, I think it was?"

"Sirius? Sirius Black?" Harry's eyes widened. "He'd be the one… teaching me?"

"I'd have to call in a few favours and twist a few arms, but I think it would be doable." she nodded with a small smile.

Harry leaned back against his chair and let out a deep breath. He was definitely interested in her offer. Defence Against the Dark Arts had always been his favourite subject and here at Durmstrang, learning from Professor Riddle and the Auror Rosencrantz had only increased his enthusiasm for the subject. Aberforth Dumbledore was considered to be one of the best Aurors to have ever worked for the British Ministry of Magic, but there was always a slight sense that he was holding back, since he was teaching children in their early teens.

His mind went briefly to Engrácia's dire warning about Grindelwald's followers, then to the knowledge that he knew that Grindelwald himself was still somewhere out there, getting ready to make his move. But then, like so many times the past few weeks, his thoughts were on the prophecy he had overheard. He wondered if this could be a way for him to fight against his fate, after all, if he was learning how to help people and fight against evil doers, wouldn't it help him stay on the right path?

He remembered Albus Dumbledore, and Harry thought that he must have had a hand in this. This was what Professor Riddle, and even Dumbledore's own daughter, had told Harry, that he wanted to use Harry's fame to strengthen the European Ministry's standing in the wizarding world. Harry was also sure that Professor Riddle would not think this was a good idea, but he didn't know if he could trust his Headmaster, now that Harry knew he was keeping secrets from him. Keeping a secret that was grim enough to cause the Professor's greatest fear to be what Harry might become.

"Harry." the Aurors standing in front of him were pushed aside and the person Harry had just been thinking of stepped through with a slightly panicked expression. He noticed who Harry was sitting with and gave the witch a small nod. "Isabella..."

"Tom, it's been a while." she gave him a slightly apologetic smile.

"It has been. May I ask what business you have with a student of mine?" Riddle's expression softened slightly, but there was still wariness evident in his voice.

"She offered me a chance to learn about Auror work, out in the field..." Harry took a deep breath and when he saw the Headmaster about to open his mouth, probably to tell him it was a bad idea, Harry quickly said, "I agreed, on the condition that it would be Sirius teaching me. No one else, just Sirius."

"Y..yes of course, that will be arranged." Engrácia's started expression instantly turned to a relieved smile.

Professor Riddle let out an irritated huff and sat down next to Harry, leaning over to him. "Harry, you don't need to do this and they can't force you to do anything. Whatever they want you to do, it's their problem to fix, not yo-"

"I want to do it." Harry said sharply, feeling annoyed at the Headmaster. "They aren't forcing me to do anything, and you can't force me either… Professor."

The wizard stared at his student in disbelief. "I… I wasn't forcing anything on you. I'm just saying that… you're only fourteen, you'll have plenty of time to train to become an Auror, if that's what you really want, when you're older."

"But I've been given a chance to do so now and I might need it. Even at Hogwarts… even at Hogwarts I was in danger more than once. Next time it happens, I don't want to feel so helpless." Harry let it all out in a rush and Riddle flinched back as if struck. Harry felt a mixture of anger and shame at his outburst and turned away from his mentor, finding Corinne staring at him from a distance. "I..I should get back to my dat- my friend. She's waiting for me..."

He stood up and left, not daring to look back at the Headmaster. He was shaking slightly and he discretely tried to rub his eyes with the back of his hands. "Harry are you oka-"

"Mr. Potter! A pleasure, a great pleasure indeed! My name is..." Corinne was rudely interrupted and almost pushed aside as a wizard came forwards to grip Harry's hand tightly. For the next ten minutes he was surrounded by wizards and witches, all introducing themselves one by one, even though Harry was sure he would never remember any of their names. He desperately sought out Corinne, who was standing back with her arms crossed, glaring at the nameless politicians.

"...right, that's great Mr… erm… Fenbee?"

"No, no, Mr. Potter! It's pronounced-" Harry caught sight of Hermione weaving her way through the crowd.

"Okay, I need to go find my friends now, sorry." he quickly stepped around the man and started a half run towards his friend. Krum was close behind her and while there were more than a few people who recognised him, he managed to keep them at bay with a fierce look warning them to back off.

"Harry are you okay?" Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.

"Yeah… surprised it took this long really." Harry muttered irritably.

Corinne also managed to get to them and she grabbed Harry's other hand, "I'll take Harry back to the castle. I'm sure they're expecting you two to stick around, being a Champion's couple and all..."

"Excuse me, Mr. Potter..."

"What?" Harry snapped at the voice. He turned around to find two wizards standing there, their expressions, unlike the others he had met so far, not one of ecstatic pleasure of meeting the famous Harry Potter.

"Manners, Mr. Potter, might save your life one day." his lips curled into a thin smile that didn't reach his eyes. The man was younger than the others he had just spent time talking to, with his hair cut short and his robes a very muted black, he wouldn't have looked too out of place in the Muggle world. He gave a minute bow as he introduced himself. "Athalwolf Barschüler."

Harry's eyes went over to the other wizard, who looked vaguely familiar, despite Harry being sure he had never seen the man before. The wizard met the boy's gaze with an unsmiling stare, "Lucius Malfoy. I'm sure you know my son, Draco, you attend classes with him. At least, you do at Hogwarts."

"Yes." Harry said simply, finally placing the pale hair and pointed face on the Slytherin boy who had been at odds with him for the past three years. Even when working together to destroy an evil spirit, they were less than friendly towards each other and after that moment passed, they were back to being more like enemies. Even knowing practically nothing about the boy's father than a passing comment made by Ron a long time ago, he instantly felt a dislike for the man.

"I saw you speaking with Senhora Engrácia, may I ask what you spoke about?" Barschüler asked quietly, over his champagne flute.

Harry had no idea if what he discussed with the Head of Magical Law Enforcement was meant to be kept quiet or not, but he didn't trust these two. "Just… stuff..."

"Just stuff…?" Barschüler echoed in a clipped tone. He looked amused. "A word of warning to you, Mr. Potter, the European Ministry is a sinking ship, it may be wiser for you to side with those who will be in power in the coming years. Dumbledore is getting older and he and his allies no longer hold as much influence as they once did."

Harry didn't make a reply. Corinne tugged his hand. "Well, Harry, I think we should get back to the party."

The four students left the two men, and thanks to Krum and Corinne shielding him from view, no one else bothered Harry. They walked to the edge of the lighted area in silence. "Thanks Hermione, V..Viktor. You two should get back."

Hermione looked reluctant to leave him, but Corinne told her gently, "We'll be fine."

"Okay… Good night, Harry. We'll talk tomorrow." Hermione was definitely curious about what Harry had discussed with the various witches and wizards. He really hoped she hadn't seem him lose his temper with the Headmaster.

Krum gave them a nod before leading Hermione back towards the dance floor. Harry sighed as they walked to the bridge, "Sorry Corinne. It hasn't been a great evening, has it?"

"It wasn't too bad." she sounded sincere. "And the night's not over yet… I might have something that might cheer you up..."

The grounds were pretty much empty, the Ball was meant to be going on for another few hours and they had left earlier than everybody else. Harry told Corinne about Engrácia's proposal, about what they wanted from him and who he would be learning from. "Well… what do you think?"

She shrugged, her expression unreadable. "It sounds like you've already decided what you're going to do. Auror work is dangerous though..."

"Oh, your father was an Auror." Harry suddenly remembered.

"Let's talk about something else..." she grabbed his hand and started walking slightly faster. They reached the Beauxbatons carriage and Corinne turned to look at him, "Alright, wait here."

"Erm… okay." Harry looked around the unsettlingly quiet school grounds. There were only a few lights on in the castle itself and the grounds were only dimly lit with the gloomy green glow coming from the lake.

Corinne must have noticed his discomfort. She seemed to think very hard about something before slowly opening her purse. With one hand inside she asked him, "Can you keep a secret Harry? And this time I really mean it, you can't tell anyone, not even your friend Hermione."

Harry nodded and promised. She took a moment to make sure he was being genuine, then she carefully started to pull something out. It continued for an astonishingly long time, considering the size of her purse, but eventually she was holding up a gleaming, silvery cloak. With a grin, Corinne told Harry to come closer before placing the cloak over his head. "Erm… what's this meant to be?"

"Really? You don't know?" she raised an eyebrow, then she whispered dramatically. "Ces't une cape d'invisibilité. An invisibility cloak..."

"Really?" Harry's eyes widened. "So you can't see me right now?"

Corinne laughed, "Well, I can see your legs… Cover them up and follow me, we're not meant to bring guests inside the carriage, so stay quiet until we get upstairs."

As soon as Harry stepped through the door, he let out a startled gasp. He didn't know exactly what he had been expecting, but it was such a stark contrast to Hogwarts and even Durmstrang. The walls were of ivory and gold, with high paintings of beautiful men and women with flowing hair, laughing and dancing. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, which were decorated with a painted blue sky, fluffy white clouds moving slowly from one end of the huge hall to another. The huge staircase leading up was made of a delicately thin wood, with golden handrails the curled elegantly at the ends. At either side of the stairs, were two golden statues of witches that were each holding a wand and wearing very loose robes that revealed an indecent amount of skin.

As Corinne, and Harry trying to keep quiet on the marble floors, approached the staircase, the statues turned their heads towards the two students and gave a small bow. Harry half expected to be stopped by the golden witches, which he was sure were meant to be serving as guards, despite their appearance, but they gave no indication that they had noticed an extra person not meant to be here.

"Right, it's this way..." Corinne said as soon as they reached the first floor landing, which was less lavishly decorated compared to the great entrance hall they had walked through, but still it seemed fancier than anything aboard the Hogwarts Express.

They passed a few doors and finally reached their destination, Corinne opened the door and inside was a neat little bedroom for one. Harry was about to follow her inside but she groped the air and grabbed his shoulder tightly. Harry asked quietly, "What?"

"You're not coming into my bedroom." she smirked and Harry was glad he was invisible, since his mouth was gaping open as he blushed fiercely. She opened a closet and poked her head inside, looking for something. She eventually emerged with a grin on her face as she placed something into her bag. "Okay, come on."

Before leaving they sneaked into a small kitchen where they raided the cupboards for a few snacks, finding two small bottles of lemonade and a handful of small pastries. After that they left the carriage without much hassle and started for their usual spot on top of the walls. Corinne took back the magical cloak and placed it back in her bag, but remained tight lipped about what she had taken from her room.

"Where did you get the invisibility cloak?" Harry asked.

"I found it in a box of stuff that belonged to my father. I'd be thankful my mother didn't throw it out, but honestly I think she just put everything she considered magical down in the cellar and completely forgot about it." Corinne shrugged.

"My… dad apparently used to have one as well. An invisibility cloak, I mean." Harry recalled a few stories told by Remus and Sirius about their adventures at Hogwarts with the cloak.

"Really? They're not too common, but I suppose they're more likely to be in the hands of those that had a big part in the wars..." Corinne mused. "What happened to it?"

Harry's face fell. "I think… it was destroyed… when they were k-... were attacked."

"I'm sorry." Corinne said softly and they continued on in silence. The huffed their way up the steep staircase, awkwardly carrying the bottles and snacks, but finally they pushed open the trapdoor to the cool night air. They took a moment to look across the lake, where the Yule Ball was still going strong, with the soft orchestral tones just about reaching their ears.

"So, are you going to tell me what you brought from your room?" Harry finally asked, his eyes glittered with anticipation.

Corinne looked slightly embarrassed, "It's probably not as exciting as you're expecting. They're just… a few fireworks."

She pulled out a small bundle of rockets tied with a piece of string, keeping her eyes on Harry for his reaction. Harry smiled and her and said simply, "I like fireworks."

"Well then," Corinne sighed in relief, offering Harry one of the rockets. "I think the skies could use a few more colours than green."

"Thanks." Harry carefully aimed it towards the air and lit the fuse with his wand. There was a fizz, some sputtering, then with a loud whoosh it screamed through the night sky, exploding in a brilliant yellow that briefly illuminated their faces. The lights coalesced until it formed a unicorn, which galloped underneath the stars. They heard cheering from the crowd across the lake and Harry suddenly remembered the rules about fireworks at Hogwarts, mostly due to the number of detentions the Weasley twins were put into for having them. "Do you think we might get in trouble for this?"

Corinne shrugged with a wide grin, "Probably, do you want to stop?"

"Nah." Harry laughed and took another one from her hand. They lighted them one after another, not needing to take time to sort out an order or consider things like timing like they would with Muggle fireworks. Eventually, there was a menagerie of various creatures, both magical and not, painting the sky with a multitude of colours.

They sat down, leaning against the wall, with their heads tilted back watching the display was they started to tuck into the food they had brought. Corinne turned to look in Harry's direction and frowned, "Hold on..."

As she leaned in towards Harry, he felt a sudden knot in his stomach and every inch of his skin felt hot. He stared hypnotised, as her face inched closer to his own, and his eyes followed her lips. Harry let out a ragged breath, closed his eyes and he kissed her.

The first thing he noticed was the fact that her lips were cold, which wasn't that surprising considering the weather. The second was that she had instantly stiffened and just as he was thinking if he was doing it wrong, there was a loud bang behind him and he instantly detached himself from her lips. He looked back towards the source of the noise and frowned in confusion, before he paled. He quickly stood up and backed away, babbling incoherently. "Y..y..you were… oh my g-! I..I'm so sorry!"

"Yeah… just… closing the trapdoor." Corinne said uncomfortably. "In case… one of us… fell through… or something..."

Harry was desperately trying to think of the fastest way out of there, while avoiding looking at the trapdoor, which had Corinne's hand still hovering over it. He looked over the edge of the wall, genuinely wondering if he would be able to make it back to the train if he just jumped off. He wanted nothing more than to run to his room and scream into his pillow, a broken leg would be a price he'd gladly pay if he could manage that.

He was suddenly turned around and their lips locked once more. Harry's heart was thundering, but he instantly felt calmer, and when Corinne pulled away he had a stupidly dazed grin plastered on his face. His smile faltered slightly when he noticed her scowling, then her hand shot out and flicked his ear painfully. "Hey! What was that for?"

"That," she said pointedly. "Is for forcing me to kiss you."

"I..I didn't force you to do anything!" Harry sputtered

She raised an eyebrow at him, "You looked like you were thinking about doing something stupid, like jumping off the wall..."

"I wasn't thinking that!" Harry lied.

She rolled her eyes and pulled Harry away from the edge, forcing him to sit down again. "Look… Harry... I think you're a really nice person, but I don't know if… this is a good idea."

"Oh." Harry looked down disappointedly.

"We'll both be going back to our schools in a few months and I don't think I could handle a long distance relationship…" Corinne said softly. Harry looked up slightly and saw what he thought was a hint of a smile on her face. She sighed and it was gone. "Maybe… maybe in a few years, if both of us are still single."

"Yeah?" Harry felt a rush of hope.

Corinne shrugged. "I thought about moving abroad after I left school. Maybe I'll come to Britain to look for a job. Or maybe you could come to France?"

"Okay. It's a promise." he said with a determined look in his eyes.

"No it isn't." she flicked his ear again, but this time it was playful and didn't hurt that much. "I might meet someone else, and so might you."

"Fine." Harry grabbed his earlobe with a playful scowl, pretending to be in pain. She giggled at him and Harry laughed. And for the rest of the night they talked softly while enjoying the fireworks that danced in the skies.

* * *

 **A/N**

And the winner of of the prize for the chapter that's gone through the most edits after the first draft is... this one!

Oh god, it was a bit of a nightmare. I finished it around Wednesday or Thursday, but after that I've been re-reading it several times, changing stuff, removing stuff and adding a whole lot of stuff until it somehow became the longest chapter yet. I thought I'd be able to upload sometime during the weekend, but I only got around to re-reading it for (what I though was going to be) the last time really late on Sunday, due to a birthday as well as some unexpected work that needed to be done around the house. Even today, I was going through it and re-wrote a whole lot of stuff and then I spent about 30 minutes racking my brain for a chapter title, only to go with the terribly inventive 'The Yule Ball'.

By the word count, it's almost twice as long as some of my chapters, but I couldn't find an ideal place to stop mid-Ball. If I'd written this chapter sooner I might have considered moving the start of the chapter to the last one or something... It was extremely stressful to write this without having a chapter I'd already finished, I don't work well with deadlines...

And on that note... I'm really sorry, but I'm going to stop updating for a few weeks. I literally have nothing else written at this moment in time and just thinking about writing and editing another chapter by the coming weekend is... extremely stressful.

Thank you to all those answered my question from the last chapter, it seems you're all generally happy with the summary, but I've been given bits of advice. I'll take the time to think about it and maybe change it around the time I post the next chapter.

French! I don't speak French! It's all googled, but I spent a while looking it up so I hope it's not too terrible. If anyone fluent in the language wants to correct me, feel free to do so!

What else, what else... OF COURSE! Thank you so much for the reviews! I seem to have so many regular reviewers now! Thank you for favouriting/following! I really hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm sorry again that I won't be updating for a while! Until then, I wish you much love, luck and laughter. Bye for now!


	33. Year 4 - Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Introduction to Auroring**

 _Hello Mr. Potter_

 _This is Isabella Engrácia. I am writing to you about what we have discussed during the Yule Ball. Although it has been kept quiet until now, in a few days time we are planning on making an official statement to the press. I have enclosed in the envelope a full copy of the speech, I'm sure you would prefer to know the contents in advance, instead of hearing snippets of talk and rumours going around the school after it has been published._

Harry opened the envelope again and took out another sheet of parchment. He skimmed through the very long letter until he finally reached the part where his name was mentioned.

 _-delighted to announce that Mr. Harry Potter has been accepted in the Auror Department internship program run by the European Ministry. I understand the concern you might have do to his age but rest assured, his safety and the safety of all those involved in this will be given the highest consideration. He has shown great talent in his studies, especially in learning how to defend himself and others and we are sure he will be a great asset to the Aurors that will work with him. We are determined to weed out the last of those individuals that had once allied themselves with the King of Crows, those who call themselves 'Krähenkönigs Zeugen'. Although their activities have been greatly reduced since the Dark Lord's fall over a decade ago, it is both the Ministry's wish, as well as Mr. Potter's, to see the last of these wizards and witches captured and held to account for their crimes. We will be working together with-_

Harry scanned the rest of the contents but didn't find much details about the work he would be doing with the Aurors, probably because it wouldn't be safe to tell the world where he was going to be. He went back to the letter from Engrácia, which asked if there was anything he objected to, but there was nothing other than the fact that he had never openly expressed the desire to see the 'Krähenkönigs Zeugen' captured, in fact it was the first time he had heard the name. Not that he objected to punishing the people that had been responsible for making him an orphan, but it almost seemed that they were trying to present him as some sort of avenging hero, something he wasn't entirely sure he liked. He decided to ignore it and accept it for now since he had sort of agreed to it, but if there were to be more of these little speeches given to the public, he might write a letter to the Ministry witch. He quickly read down to the final paragraph.

 _I have finally found a suitable assignment for you to join, alongside two Aurors, and yes, one of them will be Mr. Black. I have already cleared it with Headmaster Riddle so you should be available that day. Mr. Black will be dropping by to pick you up on-_

Harry's eyes left the parchment as someone entered the common room. His eyes met Professor Riddle's and for a moment it seemed like the Professor was going to come over to him, but then he shook his head slightly and moved on to his office, sending quiet greetings to the other students that were lounging around the room.

It had been awkward after Harry's little outburst during the Yule Ball. During their lessons they were both a little subdued and everyone had noticed the slight changes in their attitudes towards each other. No one dared to ask what is was about, except Hermione of course, and Harry gave her the excuse that they were both a little nervous about the Auror internship. He had told her about it and it was no surprise to him when she instantly expressed her disapproval. Harry eventually managed to wear her down to his way of thinking, that learning this might one day save his own life and possibly others, but she still worried ceaselessly over what might happen on these outings.

The Headmaster, on the other hand, hadn't mentioned it since the day of the Yule Ball. Harry was relieved, but at the same time he wished he could talk to Professor Riddle about this and try and convince him like he did Hermione. He also wanted to apologise for what he said at the Yule Ball, he had practically accused the Headmaster of failing to protect the students at his own school. In the end he decided that he would apologise with actions, not words. He would go with the Aurors and he would learn what he needed to and show the Headmaster he doesn't have to worry about Harry walking a path towards darkness.

* * *

Harry looked around, feeling disorientated. He moved his head around slowly, but his vision always waited a second or two before deciding to shift to where his eyes were aimed at. He could make out trees, but not like the dark and misty woods that surrounded Durmstrang Castle, nor was it like the Forbidden Forest back at Hogwarts. The trees were sparser and the sun could be seen above the high branches.

He heard the sound of someone speaking, a vaguely pleasing rhythm like someone reciting poetry, but it was muffled and distorted and even when he closed his eyes and strained his ears it was unintelligible. He thought he might have heard the words 'second task', but he couldn't be sure. When he opened his eyes again he was somewhere else. He wasn't sure how he could tell, there was a lack of visible landmarks and all the trees looked identical, but he was somehow sure of it.

Taking a deep breath he tried to remember, he knew which way he was meant to go, at least that's what he remembered being told. No, he would know as soon as he started walking, or something like that, it was extremely confusing. He looked around, not daring to move when he suddenly felt a tingling down his spine. He quickly spun around, the forest turned in the other direction making him briefly nauseous, then when his vision righted itself he caught sight of her.

Corinne.

She was facing him, but had a far off look in her eyes. Harry smiled and waved at her, but she didn't react. Frowning, Harry put his hand down and took a tentative step forward. He waited, just in case something happened, then took great strides towards his friend. The forest shifted around him and Corinne stood stock still, but Harry was no closer to her than when he had first spotted her. He didn't stop though, and he kept pushing forwards, flying pass countless trees, until he reached a little clearing.

She stood in the middle, her expression still the same, but this time when Harry took a step, she didn't move, nor did the forest. He called out to her as he broke into a slow run, but them something made him yelp and he stumbled over his own foot, crashing to the ground.

"Harry? Wake up!" Harry's body shot up and it took him a moment to realise where he was. Cedric was standing next to his bed, his expression worried. "You okay?"

Harry tried to rub the sleep from his eyes, then he reached for his glasses. "Yeah... Th..that was really weird."

"It worked then?" Cedric looked relieved and curious. "Did you see something?"

Harry nodded then he spent a moment staring blankly into the air as he tried to gather his thoughts. After the rest of the Hogwarts students found out about Harry's new undertaking they were all ready with words of advice for the boy. Cedric went as far as offering Harry some of the water he had gathered during his first Triwizard task. It wasn't actually water but a potion which took a long time for Cedric to identify, he apparently even sent an owl to Snape asking for advice. In the end he discovered that is was called the Providentia Potion, or a variant of it, an extremely difficult potion to brew, not only because of the skill and time required, but because it involved very rare ingredients, including the eye of something called the Demiguise.

The drinker of the potion would, for a single night, gain a very basic and limited form of precognition. In Cedric's case, this meant visiting the forest outside the school in his dreams night after night, trying to memorise the path he would have to take in the winding maze of the forest as well as try and identify the obstacles he would have to face. He offered it to Harry hoping it would safeguard him from some unknown danger that might be lurking in his future.

Harry shook his head, trying to clear the last image he recalled from his dream. He partially wanted to remember it, but he didn't think it was right, seeing her nak-. Harry cleared his throat, trying to ignore the blush forming on his face. "I was in a forest."

"Really? Like the one outside the school?" Cedric frowned.

"No… I don't think so. It felt… warmer." Harry didn't seem to be able to recall much more than that. "I thought I heard someone speaking at the start, maybe something about the second task?"

"Yeah, when I take it, there's always a voice explaining what I would have to do during the second task..." Cedric looked thoughtful. "Hmm… did you see anything else? There's always a troll near the start of my dreams."

"No. No trolls." Harry laughed, dreaming about trolls sounded horrible. "I only saw Cor- I mean… I though maybe I saw a person, but I'm not really sure..."

Cedric looked at him in confusion as Harry's face reddened again. "If you heard the voice, it might mean they did something to the potion so that only the Champions could use it. Sorry Harry."

"It's fine… it was… interesting." when Cedric had first explained what the potion was meant to do, Harry thought it sounded a bit too much like Divination and doubted it would work. Still, compared to the dreams he'd been having since the summer, this one had been eerie and a bit strange but not entirely unpleasant. It was about half an hour before he normally woke up, but he got out of his bed anyway and headed for the shower. Cedric was gone by the time he was out so after he dressed, he rummaged his trunk until he found what he was looking for. He sat on his bed and quietly said, "Sirius Black."

He stared at it for a minute but Sirius didn't respond. Since the Yule Ball, Harry had only managed to get through to the Auror once and that was only for a few seconds before Sirius apologised in a whisper, while not even looking in Harry's direction. Just before the image disappeared, there was a muffled swear and flash of light over the Auror's head. After that incident Harry didn't try and contact the man again, instead asking about him through Remus. But Harry hoped that he wouldn't be busy today, since it was finally the day he was going to be joining the Aurors on a mission.

"Hey, Harry." Remus answered within seconds of Harry calling his name. The werewolf caught Harry's worried expression. "Full moon last night, don't worry about it. You're wondering about Sirius I take it?"

"Yeah, he wouldn't answer." at first Harry had been worried that Sirius was angry with him for dragging him into this, but Remus had been quick to reassure him. Sirius had been extremely busy the past few weeks, even more so after Engrácia reached out to the British Ministry. But according to Remus, Sirius was working hard to try and clear his schedule so that he could spent the time with Harry.

"I wouldn't worry, he's probably still asleep. He was working until pretty late last night." Remus smiled at him, a smile that Harry had started noticing held a mixture of emotions. Harry knew that the gamekeeper was genuinely happy to see Harry, but there was worry and the tiniest hint of apprehension, making Harry wonder if Remus had also heard about the prophecy and what had happened between him and the Headmaster. "He's meant to drop by at noon, right?"

"Right…" Harry said, slightly relieved. "So, how are you doing? Anything interesting happen at Hogwarts?"

Remus considered his question for a moment, "Not really, its been pretty quiet around here. With you and the Weasley twins gone, there's no one here to cause trouble."

"I don't cause trouble!" Harry said heatedly, but he grinned when he saw Remus smiling mischievously. "Erm… have you seen Ron around?"

The werewolf hesitated, unsure of how to answer. After the Ball, Harry had talked to his friend through Remus' mirror. They talked for a few hours, but Ron seemed distracted ever since he found out who Hermione had gone with. The worst, however, came when Harry told him he would be training with Aurors. Ron froze, gaping at him, before he gave Harry a grin that looked all too forced. The red-head congratulated him and wished him luck, then he quickly made an excuse and left before Harry could say goodbye.

They still exchanged letters for the next few weeks, but Ron's letters seemed oddly stiff, almost mechanically replying to questions Harry had asked then giving a very short update on anything that had happened and finally signing off with an obligatory thank you for lending him the Nimbus. Harry had no idea what was going on with his friend, but when he asked Hermione she curtly told him she didn't know, before turning back to her book.

"He's… been busy with Quidditch practice." Remus said slowly, not really answering his question. Harry sighed, he had never been so frustrated to be at Durmstrang Institute instead of back at Hogwarts. He suddenly remembered what Corinne said about long distance relationships and let out a sigh, she was probably right. If he couldn't salvage a three year friendship with Ron, how would he be able to deal with someone he had only known for a few months?

They talked for a while longer but Remus kept yawning and Harry finally realised that the werewolf must have been exhausted and said goodbye. He wandered into the Hall of Tapestries with Hermione and tried to force himself to eat a decent breakfast, even though he was feeling too nervous to be hungry.

He was distracted for the rest of the morning when the older students, those who had some time off, offered to help him practice a few spells he might need. They gathered in the practice room in the study carriage and took turns trying to curse, hex and jinx Harry while he tried his best to deflect them and send off a few counterattacks as well. Corinne had received permission to come join them, although she just sat down and watched them. Harry was relieved since he didn't think he could raise his wand against her, in fact, after the dream he couldn't even look her in the eye.

When they finished Harry thanked everyone, including Corinne, sent a hex towards Fred for the wolf-whistle then went back to his room for another shower. He spent some time with Hedwig, offering her some treats while they had a whispered 'conversation'. Her soft hooting helped relax him a little and he finally gave her a stroke before saying goodbye and leaving the room. When he was back downstairs the train was empty, everyone else had gone to get some lunch, but Harry didn't think he could eat anything. His head turned as the door to the Headmaster's office opened, "Harry, are you ready to leave?"

"He's here? Sirius?" Harry called out, but the man that stepped out behind the Headmaster wasn't Sirius Black.

The wizard's small dark eyes darted around the room as if looking for some hidden threat. He took a step forward, his foot hitting the floor with a heavy clunk, and he growled, "Afraid not, Potter. He's late, so I came to get you myself."

Harry took in a sharp breath as the wizard faced him directly, it was more scar tissue than unblemished skin, with a rather large chunk of his nose missing. Another thing missing was one of his legs and in it's place a wooden one, the ends of which curled into a savage claw. He seemed to enjoy Harry's reaction and sent a smirk towards the boy. Professor Riddle cleared his throat, "Harry, this is Alastor Moody."

"P..please to meet you." Harry said nervously, unable to stop staring at the disfigured face.

"I'm sure you are." Moody snorted.

Riddle cleared his throat. "Alastor can be a little… abrasive… but he's a good man, you can trust him."

"Okay… Erm, so you're from the British Ministry as well?" Harry thought he could detect a hint of a Scottish accent from the man.

"No, I'm a Euror." Moody said curtly before he took a few rapid steps towards a window and carefully lifted a corner of the curtains with his wand to peek outside.

"...a what?" Harry asked.

"European Ministry Auror. It isn't an official name, but it's easier than having to say the whole thing." Professor Riddle explained. Teacher and student both watched the 'Euror' glare at something outside. Riddle sighed and turned to Harry with a soft voice, "Harry… Be careful and listen to Sirius as well as Alastor, they are both talented Aurors and they will look after you."

Harry kept quiet waiting for something further, like telling him he could still back out if he wanted to, but Professor Riddle just looked at him, waiting for a reply. "Yes, Professor, I will."

He placed a hand on Harry's tense shoulder and smiled, "You faced worst at Hogwarts, as long as you keep calm I'm sure you'll do well. You don't have to be so nervous."

"Well, Potter. Ready to go?" Harry jumped as Moody spoke. He had somehow managed to sneak up behind him, despite his wooden leg. He held out a chipped mug covered in grime. Harry stared at it blankly, until he jumped again when Moody barked, "It's a Portkey Potter, now hurry up and touch the damned thing."

"Good luck Harry." Professor Riddle gave his student a reassuring nod.

Harry returned a small nod and laid a single finger on the tip of the handle, the only part that could be considered 'clean', and he was instantly whipped off his feet. The nauseating journey ended soon enough and Harry fell onto the grass taking deep breaths. Moody threw the cup away and helped Harry onto his feet. He was led towards a figure waiting for them who gave them a friendly wave. "Auror Moody, Mr. Potter!"

"Black here yet?" Moody growled at the man.

Before answering he raised a camera he was holding and flashed a photo of a startled looking Harry and an impatient Moody. "That's perfect, Mr. Potter! We want you to look completely natural, to show the world that you're 'doing' rather than just 'being'! And no, Auror Black hasn't arrived yet… We can take the time to get a few more photos before he does. Now, Mr. Potter, why don't you just… move around a bit, maybe we'll get a few shots of you holding out your wand..."

Moody gave a loud harrumph, before leaving Harry alone with the photographer to fend for himself. Harry awkwardly moved around, looking completely stiff and unnatural. The photographer tried to engage him in some light conversation in an attempt to get him to relax, but Harry still felt mortified about the whole situation and this time. Thankfully, after about five minutes of the ordeal there was a loud pop and Harry whirled around to the source of the noise.

"Harry!" Sirius bellowed in delight as he ran over to the boy, scooping him up in a short hug before letting him go and ruffling his hair. Harry shot him a slightly annoyed look at being treated like a child, but Sirius just returned a cheeky grin and patted him on his head. "Thank you very much for dragging me all the way out here..."

Harry saw that despite the cheerful demeanour, Sirius looked exhausted. His robes looked slightly crumpled and he had bags under his eyes, looking as if he hadn't had a good night's sleep for a few weeks. "You don't mind… do you? You look..."

"Of course not!" Sirius barked, looking amused. "I look tired because my boss, is being a bit of a git. He couldn't refuse when Engrácia asked him for my time, but he's been piling work on me, hoping I'd refuse the offer myself. Well, I did everything he asked me to, so he can go scre-"

"Black!" Moody glared at Sirius, exuding impatience. "If you're quite done, we have a job to do!"

"Nice to see you too, Moody." the Euror growled at the cheerful response. The photographer wanted to take one more photo with the three of them standing together, but after that they hurried along. Harry finally took some time to consider his surroundings, they were walking along a hill and he could see taller mountains in the distance. At the bottom of the hill was a flowing river, with a few modest wooden houses standing by the sides.

"So… what exactly are we here to do?" Harry asked, while Moody muttered under his breath, something about untrained civilians.

"We're here to look into this..." Sirius took out a folded up page of a newspaper out of his pocket. Harry could tell it was a Muggle newspaper, since the photograph, showing a patch of land with black scorch marks, was completely still. Harry looked closely at the article itself. "Erm… what does it say and... where are we by the way?"

"We're in Serbia and that's from a local Muggle newspaper. There have been a few freak lightning strikes in the area, literal bolts out of the blue. Thankfully, no one's been killed yet but a few Muggles have been injured." Sirius explained, taking back the article. "We know there's a wizarding family living nearby, we think they might have been attacking Muggles that have strayed near their home."

"...That's it?" Harry blurted out, before scratching his head sheepishly. "I mean..."

Sirius snorted, "Yeah, I know what you mean. You were expecting dark wizards, monstrous beasts or something like that. Engrácia was completely serious when she told you your safety is the highest concern. Maybe later on, we'll be able to do something a bit more exciting..."

They eventually reached the little patch of land that Harry recognised from the photo. Moody stopped them all and produced his wand, carefully tracing it over the air. Harry carefully whispered to Sirius, not wanting to disturb whatever the old Auror was doing, "What's happening?"

Sirius gave him a look then called out to Moody, "Wait, Moody. We're here to teach Harry as well."

Moody glared at him, but lowered his wand. "Get on with it then..."

"Harry, hold out your wand and carefully trace it in the air, just like Moody was doing." Sirius directed Harry's hand onto a spot in front of them. Sirius seemed to be expecting something, but Harry didn't know what. "Do you feel something there?"

"No..." Harry murmured quietly, with no idea what he was doing.

"Okay, let's try this..." Sirius raised his own wand towards Harry's hand and muttered quietly, " _Tactilis malefica..._ "

Harry instantly felt a tingling from his fingertips down to his elbow, then back up again, feeling like he had pins and needles in his hand. Harry flexed a few of his fingers trying to get used to this strange sensation. "What was that spell?"

"It's a charm that helps you detect traces of dark magic. That thing you're feeling… try moving your hand away from that spot..." Harry did so and felt the numbness slowly vanish from his hand. When he moved it forwards again, the feeling returned. Sirius nodded, "It's a very basic spell that will do little more than tell you that there is a spell there. Identifying it and counteracting it requires far more complex spellwork that will take far too long to teach right now."

"Tacti… what was it?" Harry asked.

"Tactilis malefica." Sirius repeated it two more times as Harry murmured the incantation quietly, trying to memorise it. "When you're more used to it, you should be able to detect spells like this without using the incantation."

"Is that how you and Moody knew that there was something here?" Sirius nodded and Harry looked at the scorch marks on the ground in front of them. "So, if we cross this point will we get struck by lightning or something like that?"

"No." Moody grumbled impatiently. "This is just a minor hex that causes anyone to pass to get a feeling of impending doom. It's frowned upon by the Ministry, but not technically illegal, wizards that live near Muggles often have it to ward off anyone who strays too near their property."

"Well, it won't do us any harm so we'll just leave it up." Sirius gave a nod to Moody and walked forwards. Harry followed him, the prickling in his hand increasing with every step he took, until it suddenly vanished. But he quickly turned his head side to side, unable to shake the feeling that he was being watched, that they were walking into an ambush. Sirius gave him a smile, "It's not too bad, right? Most Muggles would probably start running the other way at this point. Since we're not, and the fact that we knew it was going to happen, makes it easier to cope with."

"Ri..right." Harry tried to sound confident as the nameless photographer took one more shot of them.

When Harry turned towards the flash, the man smiled at him. "Just pretend I'm not here Mr. Potter, just concentrate on whatever the Aurors are saying."

They continued onwards and eventually they reached a building that Harry could instantly tell belonged to a wizarding family. Like the Burrow, it looked like it was on the brink of collapse, but Harry knew it would be sturdier than many Muggle structures. It wasn't as big and it certainly didn't feel homely, in fact it looked slightly morbid, it was the sort of house that Harry might have described as 'haunted' before he found out about actual ghosts.

"So… what now?" Harry asked, the feeling of dread still hung around him but he was starting to feel a shiver of excitement.

Sirius look at him with an apologetic grin. "Sorry to disappoint you, but we were just planning on going up to the house and knocking. Still, have your wand ready, you never know what's going to happen."

As they neared the house, Harry thought he saw a shadow moving beyond the curtained windows. They parted slightly, before falling back into place. The two Aruors didn't stop, but Harry saw them both tighten their grips on their wands, as if expecting something. Nothing happened until they were about ten feet away from the door, when it crashed open and an old man with wild hair appeared brandishing his wand and started shouting loudly in what Harry presumed was whatever language they spoke here.

"Stop! We're Aurors with the European Ministry!" Sirius shouted over the irate man's rantings, ducking a flash of red light.

The Aurors quickly produced shields that deflected the sparks of magic that were fired in their direction. Unlike Harry, who's heart was thundering in his chest, the two wizards almost seemed bored. Moody turned to Harry with a feral grin, "Well Potter? What are you waiting for? Incapacitate the bloody attacker, will you?"

"What?" Harry yelped.

"It'll be fine Harry." Sirius encouraged him with a nod towards the enraged man. "Half the students in your year are probably more skilled than he is."

It was true, the majority of the spells being shot in their direction were wide off the mark, making the old man angrier and in turn, making his spells veer off even further. Harry stepped in front of Sirius and Moody, quickly using the Shield Charm when the Aurors lowered theirs. He had the full attention of the old wizard but his magic held strong. He ignored the non-stop flashing and whirling noise from the camera behind him and raised his wand. " _Stupefy._ "

On his first try, the red flash he produced hit the man square on the chest, knocking him out cold and sending him flying into the house. Sirius clapped his back. "Well done Harry, not too bad, right?"

"I don't know… am I allowed to do that?" Harry had practised the spell before, using it on his friends, but it felt strange to use it on a complete stranger.

"Of course you are! The bloody fool attacked us, didn't he?" Moody barked. "Every wizard or witch has the right to defend themself if they're attacked!"

There was a high pitched scream from inside the house and Sirius grabbed Harry by the back of his robes and pulled him back. A witch, looking as old as the wizard before her, emerged from the door, wielding a thick branch of a tree like a spear. She gave short sharp thrusts forwards, while yowling threateningly at them.

"...that's not good..." Sirius muttered with his head raised towards the sky, before throwing Harry to the ground and shouting an incantation. Harry couldn't see what was happening, but he heard a deafening clap of thunder and his senses were awash with blinding light and a metallic tang at the back of his tongue. Sirius helped his back onto his feet and Harry had to blink several times to clear his vision. He turned towards the door and it seemed Moody had knocked the old lady out and was carefully examining the wooden branch.

They lifted the couple and leaned them against the wall before waking them with a short spell. As soon as they were conscious they narrowed their eyes and hissed at Moody and the wand he was pointing at them. Moody identified themselves as Aurors with the Ministry again before he started questioning them. "Do you speak English? Bugger. Right… Gde… si… dobiti… drvo?"

"Your Serbian is bad." the old man started cackling along side the witch, whom Harry presumed was his wife.

Moody swore loudly, his wand pointing threateningly between the man's eyes while he held out the branch with his other hand. "Where did you get this? Did you make it?"

The old man snorted and turned his head away, indicating he had nothing more to say. Sirius walked over, with Harry following close behind, and suggested, "Moody, you keep an eye on them. Harry and I'll have a look around the house."

The old couple scowled at the fact that their home was about to be invaded, but they gave a curious glance at the boy who looked far too young to be an Auror. The old man mouthed the name Sirius had just said and his eyes widened, "Harry… Potter? Harry Potter!"

Harry gave a silent groan, as the couple started speaking rapid Serbian to each other. It seemed that even in a tiny village on the other side of the continent, he couldn't escape from people who knew his name. Moody snorted in disdain, "That's right, he's _the_ Harry Potter and you bloody attacked him!"

They looked crestfallen. The old man muttered, "We are very sorry. We did not know..."

"Well then, can you tell us where you got this… stick?" Sirius asked, all too amused.

The couple started talking quietly again, and the old man turned to Harry. "My wife, she ask if you are hungry?"

"Erm..." to be completely honest, Harry _was_ feeling a bit peckish, but one look at Moody's irritated face suggested he shouldn't say that out loud.

"You look hungry." the old man gave him a toothless grin and stood up, completely ignoring Moody's objections and threats. "Come inside, we give you food."

"I could use a bite, I haven't eaten since last night." Sirius said cheerfully and stepped lightly into the house. Harry gave a short glance at Moody's twitching eyes and hurried after Sirius.

The food was simple but tasty, some sort of stew with large chunks of bread, which Moody slapped out of Harry's hand as he was about to take a bite, sniffing it and taking a careful chew before allowing the boy to eat anything. After a muttered comment from Sirius telling Moody to lighten up, they tried to use the more relaxed atmosphere to try and get the old couple to talk. They were more than happy to, even if they were talking at Harry rather than to the two Aurors.

It turned out they hadn't made the lightning branch, "My brother's son, when he hears we have trouble with Normalac, Mug-gle I think you say, he bring the stick back from travels."

"Your nephew made it?" Sirius asked through a mouthful of food.

"No. No" the old man shook his head. "Made by Tomor."

"Tomor?" Moody frowned. "That's the name of the wizard, or witch, that made it?"

"Wizard… I think." the old man said slowly, "But I do not think is his real name. Tomor is old name..."

It seemed that the Muggle teenagers from a nearby village would often dare each other to wander near the 'haunted' house. The nephew had apparently met this 'Tomor' while travelling and had been granted this rather excessive method of keeping unwanted intruders at bay. At first they had used it without knowing what it was meant to do, but that had instantly reduced the number of Muggles approaching their house to a handful. They told Harry that they were horrified at what it had done, but the results were too effective that they used it a few more times to completely stop anyone else from straying nearby.

"We are sorry, we do not want trouble with Ministry..." the couple hung their heads and Harry couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for them.

Sirius gave an exasperated sigh, "Why didn't you just use a simple Muggle-Repelling Charm?"

The old man gave him a blank stare. "What is that?"

As Sirius tried to explain, Harry turned to Moody and whispered, "What's going to happen to them?"

"Attacking Muggles usually carries a prison sentence, but that's normally because it also breeches the International Statute of Secrecy. The Muggles just think it's a freakish weather phenomenon, and as far as I can tell they don't seem to be maliciously targeting the Muggles either so… they'll probably have to pay a fine or something. Not up for me to decide..." Moody said quietly. "Oh, and we'll obviously be confiscating that… thing."

Harry wasn't sure how he felt. The old couple seemed very nice now that he wasn't staring down the end of their wands, but their actions had sent several people to the hospital. It seemed a rather lax punishment considering that. "So… if you attack Muggles without revealing magic, you can just pay money to make the crime disappear?"

Moody raised an eyebrow. "It's not as simple as that. There was no use of excessive force, the lightning was flashy and loud, but most of the Muggles walked off with just a few burns. But… yes I suppose, if he did that to another wizard or witch they would be facing worse. I didn't write the laws, boy. I just enforce them."

"...what about the fact they attacked us?" Harry lowered his voice even further as he watched the Sirius and the couple laugh out loud about something.

"Now that certainly would be worth prison time, but..." Moody snorted. "I'd be embarrassed to call that a bloody attack… He didn't last ten seconds against a fourteen year old, no offence Potter..."

Moody left briefly to cover the area with Muggle-repelling charms after Harry and Sirius both insisted that they should help the old couple, and when he returned, they were ready to leave. The witch gave Harry a wide grin, handing him a small basket filled with various fruits and a cake, pretending not to understand Harry's embarrassed refusal. They all stood by the door and smiled as the cameraman, who Harry had almost forgotten was there, took one final photo.

"Black, you'll get Potter back to the school?" Sirius gave a nod and without another word Moody, carrying the lightning stick, disappeared, closely followed by the cameraman.

Sirius turned out his pockets trying to locate the Portkey that he was _sure_ he brought with him. "So, did you have fun Harry?"

"Yeah, I did." Harry looked at the small pile of food he was carrying. "I used my wand twice, had a good lunch and got all this at the end… Auror work isn't that hard, is it?"

Sirius ruffled Harry's hair at the joke, barking out a laugh. "If only… You haven't experienced the true joys of Auror work until you've staked out the alleyway behind a Muggle bar, keeping yourself entertained by trying to identify what the customers were drinking by the colour and stench of their vomit."

"...really?" Harry gave him a disgusted look.

"Oh yeah, I've done that a fair few times." Sirius laughed but gave a content sigh, He gave Harry's head another pat and said, "Worth it though, caught some really nasty characters doing that…"

"Hmm… Do you think we'll try and track down this Tomor person?" Harry shook Sirius' hand away, his own hands occupied with the basket.

"I don't know. They'll likely have someone try and track down this nephew to see where exactly he met this Tomor fellow… But it's probably going to take some time. Something like this won't be a priority for them." Sirius said and he fished something out of his pockets with a look of triumph. "Aha!"

Harry stared at the broken lightbulb for a moment, then he started laughing.

* * *

 **A/N**

There you go! That wasn't such a long wait, was it? =)

I don't know if you're a bit disappointed that Harry's first foray into Auror work isn't as exciting as you might have hoped. Once again, I know nothing about the Serbian language, and google was less than obliging in giving me much help.

I have the next chapter written up and in the process of writing the one after that. I feel I _should_ be able to finish the year without taking any more breaks but I make no promises.

Thank you, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you all next week!

Oh completely forgot I was going to do this... so... **A/N2!** Just changed the summary, what do you think? Better or worse? Wish I was allowed to write a bit more but I manged to cut it down to fit the limit. It'd be great if you could leave a bit of feedback about it, and as always, reviews about the chapter are very much welcome!


	34. Year 4 - Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **Something Important**

 _Dear Hermione and Harry._

 _How are you? Things are a bit heated here with the Quidditch games. Spirits are running high without the Headmaster here to calm things down. For once it's the Hufflepuffs that are being rowdy. I think Cedric being chosen as Champion is still having an effect, even months after the announcement. Everyone's feeling a bit tense about the upcoming Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match and things are a bit strained between Ron and Ernie. I dread to think what would have happened if hadn't been good friends since our first year._

 _Harry, we've all been following your articles and honestly every one we read makes us a little jealous you've been given this fantastic opportunity! When you get back, you really need to teach us some of the things you've been learning, starting with whatever you learnt when you had to deal with that witch who was illegally breeding Acromantula. We were with Hagrid at the time when the Prophet arrived. After we all read it he started defending the creatures, saying they're not harmful at all and he kept looking towards the forest. We're pretty much convinced he's keeping some out there, so I think whatever spell you know that can deal with giant, monstrous spiders might definitely come in handy some day._

 _Can you wish Cedric good luck for us? We're all hoping for a Hogwarts victory!_

 _Sue_

Hermione frowned and felt the inside of the envelope that had just arrived and another piece of parchment fell to the ground. She picked it up and Harry glanced at it over her shoulders.

 _Hermione_

 _I've been looking into that thing you asked me to, and I think I finally found a book that would be useful. It's called 'Bewitchment of the Minde: Perceaving and Dispelling Dwimmercraft', but before I get into that I just have to get this out._

 _This thing going on with Ron, I know you're hundreds of miles away, but you have to do something. It's pretty obvious that he-_

Harry flinched as the letter was crumpled and Hermione whirled around in her seat to glare at Harry. "It's addressed to me, not to both of us."

"Oh, was it?" Harry pretended not to realise.

She narrowed her eyes at him and folded her arms. "How much did you read?"

"Not much..." he shrugged. "So… what's this obvious thing going on with Ron?"

"Harry!" Hermione blushed slightly. "It's none of your business!"

"Fine..." Harry sighed and stood up. "You'll tell me if there's anything wrong with him though, won't you?"

Hermione nodded. "I will..."

"I promised to meet Corinne. Have fun with bewitching… mud?" Harry's eyes had passed over the title of the book quite quickly. Harry shook his head while he left the room and muttered, "Why on earth would you want to bewitch mud?"

* * *

"And another fantastic display of- OHH!" the crowd gasped and their heads turned as one to watch the other screen, where a boar the size of a small car suddenly came crashing out of the trees. It froze as it caught sight of the Champion, it's metallic-bronze bristles quivering slightly, then it lowered it's head and charged. Cedric let out a yelp and shot out curses and hexes at the creature, but it's oversized golden tusks seemed to deflect the spells and Cedric only managed to throw himself aside at the last minute as the creature thundered past him.

The second task of the Triwizard Tournament was hectic, not just for the Champions but for the spectators as well. The three Champions entered the forest at the same time, from three different directions, but their ultimate destination was the same. Their target was the heart of the forest, where they had to recover something that was important to them. Since there were three Champions undertaking the task at the same time, three screens were raised meaning that they were constantly twisting their heads side to side in an attempt to take in everything that was happening at once.

It started out slowly, as the Champions all took their first wary first steps into the gloomy woods. Within seconds a thick fog settled around them, making them unable to see further than a few feet and disorienting them quite badly. Harry presumed that this was the reason for the need for the potion obtained in the first task. The Champions weren't surprised, neither was Harry, at the sudden appearance of a troll, but the spectators all roared as one and cheered loudly as each Champion easily dispatched their first obstacle.

Harry recalled being near the forest when he and Hermione had accidentally found themselves outside of the castle grounds earlier that year. He remembered feeling spooked just being nearby and it turned out he was right to feel apprehensive. There were trolls, clouds of buzzing insect-like creatures that left dozens of tiny cuts on anyone straying nearby, trolls, strange little creatures that let out a high pitched cackles from behind the trees, trolls, huge humpbacked beasts with greyish purple skin and two sharp horns that none of the Champions attempted to confront and finally more trolls. Big trolls, slightly smaller trolls and trolls that seemed particularly noxious (judging by the Champions' reactions on smelling them), there seemed to be an abundance of trolls in the forest.

The Champions went slowly and steadily as the confronted each of these creatures one by one, but they soon realised they needed to hurry and started running, favouring split second reactions instead of carefully planned approaches. But even after the half way mark of their one hour time limit, their destination seemed nowhere in sight. Metaxas had announced that the Champions, and whatever they had to rescue, would need to be back outside the forest within the limit, but it looked like none of them were going to make it in that time.

There was a grunt from Krum as he took a step back and wiped his sole of his boot on the bark of a nearby tree. The audience let out a sympathetic groan of disgust as Krum's gaze turned to the ground, where a carpet of overgrown fleshy pink fungus was visible as far as the dim light from his wand through the fog allowed. Harry wondered how Krum could have missed the slimy pink layer that coated the forest floor, but then his question was answered when a pine cone came hurtling out of the treetops, hitting Krum on the head.

Harry caught glimpses of hairless green arms ending in large webbed hands, clutching anything they could get their hands on in the treetops. A puffy, amphibian head finally emerged, with what looked like a glowing red gemstone lodged in it's forehead. It let out something between a croak and a hoot, before it hurled the branch it was holding. It missed the Champion by a good few feet, but soon after Krum was pelted with stuff from all directions. The eerie red glowing had followed all three of the Champions through the canopy during their task. Harry had discovered they were called Clabberts, from the students taking excitedly around him. They weren't particularly dangerous, just slightly annoying, but they could still be a deadly distraction when the Champions were dealing with the more lethal inhabitants of the forest.

There was a sudden movement from the bushes in front of Delacour, it looked like another troll so he turned to see how Cedric was faring with the giant boar, when screams started coming from the audience, including from right next to him.

"What? What is is?" Cedric was in a fast paced sprint and Krum was currently shouting angrily at the trees while he blasted spells at the Clabberts.

"Look..." Harry gaze turned to where Sylvia was pointing. What he had dismissed as another troll, due to the pale green hunched form emerging from the thicket, had raised itself to it's full height. It was much taller than any of the trolls he had seen so far. Unlike the thickset trolls, this creature was lithe, with long limbs covered in muddy green scales and the rest of it's body was hidden under a cloak fashioned from leaves and vines. But that wasn't what had made everyone scream, or what made Harry's skin crawl with horror, it was the head on top of the body. It wasn't that of an ugly creature or beast, but one that looked unmistakably human, one that could have been considered quite a handsome face if not for the pale skin and dead-looking eyes that leered at Delacour, and in turn directly at everyone watching the screen.

It leapt into action, it's hands extending in a flash and gripping Delacour by her ankle. The Beauxbatons Champion let out a hiss and shot flames from her wand, making the creature recoil in pain, clutching it's scorched hand. With another flick, she conjured thick ropes that wrapped it's slender arms tightly against it's body. A final " _Depulso!_ " had the creature flying back, crashing into a tree and Delacour didn't hesitate in making her way pass the fallen beast.

Cedric was still running and a quick look behind him showed the boar, now frothing from it's mouth, still relentlessly pursuing him. He had given up trying to curse it directly, it's apparent thick hide and Cedric's inability to aim properly while running made it something of an impossibility, so instead he tried to slow it down by digging up the dirt and rocks from the ground as he massed, making it's path as uneven as he could for the charging creature.

Lots of movement from Krum's vision caught everyone's attention. The screen flipped upside-down and Krum seemed to be slowly move away from the pink fungal growth covering the ground. Unlike the anxious crowd, Krum was breathing evenly despite being dragged into the air feet first by some unknown force up to a height that definitely would have caused damaged if he fell. Harry leaned forwards, trying to identify what manner of beast had caught the Durmstrang boy, but he could only see trees. It didn't help that Krum was intently looking at one tree in particular and it took more than a moment for Harry to realise why, "The tree is moving!"

Fred gave him a funny look besides him, "Why are you so surprised? There's all sort of moving plants in the greenhouses back at Hogwarts."

"But… It's a tree..." Harry said stupidly, blushing slightly.

Krum swung his body slightly, before bending forwards and gripping the branch that had a grip on his ankles. A quick spell and the ends of the branch was blasted away into splinters then there was an impressive display of acrobatics that had the crowd gasping in awe. Other branches from the tree were lunging at him, but Krum moved quickly, blasting away the spindly tendrils that tried to grip him and throwing himself at the thicker parts of the tree. He climbed higher until he reached the end of a particularly thick and steady bough and after a quick look over his shoulders, he jumped out into the air. There were a few screams from the audience and Metaxas was commentating so rapidly, his Greek accent was become more prominent by the minute. Even mid air, he didn't seem to lose his cool and he calmly used a spell at the tree in front of him. The needle like leaves instantly puffed up and Krum crashed into it, gripping the tree with his whole body. Thankfully this tree didn't seem to be a moving one.

He continued to jump from tree to tree, while the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons Champions were still running on the ground, both darting glances over their shoulders and launching a spell or two. They both crashed into something simultaneously and dropped to the floor. They were back on their feet instantly, with wands raised and spells on the tips of their tongues. A few people in the crowd burst into laughter despite the dangers the two Champions were facing, as Delacour's screen showed an astonished Cedric and Cedric's showed an equally surprised Delacour.

They suddenly remembered what they were doing a moment ago and both turned around, seeing the two creatures that were still chasing after them. They turned again to continue their escape but through the two screens Harry could see them both go pale as they realised that their paths of escape had just been cut in half, or even more than that. Thickets of thorny bushes were to one side and the other was a steep dip of collapsed mountainside.

"Hey!" the two Champions looked up towards the source of the voice to find two ropes dropping from the top of the tree they were standing under. They didn't have much time to think and simply gripped it tightly with one hand and it coiled tightly around their wrists before dragging them up into the trees. A loud crash from the ground turned their attention as all three screens revealed the same view, the giant boar had crashed into… whatever that thing was, and they began tearing into each other with claws and tusks and fangs. Their struggle levelled trees, but thankfully it was moving away from the three Champions, very close to the cliff edge, until they eventually slipped and dropped with angry roars that cut off with a sickening crunch.

"Merci." Delacour said in a breathless murmur.

"Yeah. Thanks." Cedric and Delacour both looked up to the Durmstrang boy with a grateful expression.

"...no problem." Krum muttered, before the tiniest hint of a smile appeared on his face. "There's only about ten minutes left, you should hurry."

With that he took a few steps back and disappeared into the mist, leaving the two Champions dangling there. As the two Champions's faced each other, Cedric's smile turned into a frown, and he shouted to where Krum had vanished. "Hey! Are you just leaving us here?"

Delacour aimed a familiar charm at her feet before whipping her wand at the rope. She fell, feet first, and like during the first task she slowed down and landed lightly on the forest floor. She looked up to Cedric and gave him a cheerful wave before blasting a hole in the thorny bushes and sliding through.

Cedric grumbled under his breath. He looked down at the drop underneath him and took a deep breath. Like Delacour, he slashed at the rope with his wand and started falling with a yelp. He plunged towards the very solid earth but apparently he managed to do something with his wand off screen, since he started to slow down, although not as gracefully as Delacour had just done. There was a loud thud and a grunt of pain, but Cedric quickly stood up brushing dead leaves off his robes before darting down the same path the Beauxbatons Champion had run down moments ago.

Krum was back on the ground as well and was running at full speed. He slowed down as he reached a magnificent stone archway, guarded by two dwarfs. They stood stoically, still as statues, staring straight ahead without even acknowledging the approaching student. Krum moved closer and eventually sprinted pass them without looking back.

He eventually reached a flat clearing which seemed to have been made by carving into the mountain itself. There were a few freestanding structures, but most seemed to be partially built into the side of the artificial cliff. Clapping and cheering made Krum turn his head towards the top of a building where more dwarfs were making a ruckus while pointing at the approaching Champion, they looked smaller that the two Krum had passed by the gate and from their smoother skin and excited expressions Harry thought that they might have been children.

But Krum ignored them and moved on and Harry finally saw the Champions' ultimate destination. Three stone altars were raised some distance apart and Krum sprinted towards the one on the right, where Hermione Granger lay with her eyes closed, her expression one of deathly peace. Harry whispered nervously, "She's okay, right?"

George heard him and gave Harry a reassuring pat on the back, even though his expression looked a bit grim. "I doubt they'd let anything happen to her. It's probably just some kind of spell..."

Krum gently raised a hand to touch Hermione's face and the instant he did, Hermione's eyes shot open, colour flooding her cheeks. She blinked several times, looking dazed, "Viktor? Wh..what… oh! The second task!"

"It's almost over, we just need to find a way back..." Krum paused for a moment, then muttered, "...within five minutes..."

"YES! ONLY FIVE MINUTES TO GO!" Metaxas announced excitedly.

"There's no way anyone them could have reached that place within half an hour..." Blue murmured thoughtfully. "They must have set up something for a quick return. Did Cedric say anything, Harry?"

"Not really..." from what Harry could remember Cedric telling him, the potion had been cryptic about the final part of the task. The disembodied voice had only revealed that the clue was in the well. Harry naturally thought it meant that the water, or potion, was giving them the clues, but now that he considered it, that was a rather pointless piece of advice.

Krum gently offered Hermione his hand and helped her off the raised altar, then started looking around for something. What Krum finally found made Harry's blood run cold. "No..."

It was the horse-like creature, the one he had seen on his first day back at Hogwarts. Harry was shaken from his thoughts when he heard Blue's sharp voice, "What's wrong?"

Harry was considering what he was going to say, but someone else answered the question before he could, "Thestral..."

Sylvia had gone pale and her hands were trembling slightly and a look of understanding swept over all the Hogwarts' students. He noticed one of the Slytherins was also looking a bit uncomfortable and had his hand tightly wrapped around his friend's. Looking further away, he noticed a few similar reactions breaking out from the Durmstrang crowd, distressed murmurs and whispers. Harry cleared his throat and shakily asked in a whisper, "W..wh..what's a T..thestral?"

"It's a breed of winged horse, they're invisible unless..." Blue started to explain then she finally turned to face Harry and his extremely tense expression. "...unless… Harry, can you see them?"

"Bluebell!" Angelina hissed and gave her a knowing look, twitching her head towards Harry's forehead.

"What is it? And yes, I can see them..." Harry asked impatiently, but at the same time feeling an almost dizzying surge of hope and relief. "They're at Hogwarts too aren't they? The carriages... I thought… I thought..."

The older students all looked at each other uncomfortably, but eventually George opened his mouth, "Harry… Has no one ever explained it to you? You must have seen then when you first went onto the carriages during your second year..."

"What? No!" Harry said, looking confused. "I've never seen then before the start of this year!"

"...Thestrals can only be seen by someone who has witnessed death..." Blue explained while gently patting Sylvia's hand. "But I don't understand… surely you must have..."

Everybody's eyes involuntarily moved towards Harry's forehead again and he realised what they were all thinking. "I..I don't remember… I don't even know… if I… saw anything… on that day..."

Even with that vague explanation they all understood what he was saying and didn't question him further. Fred looked at Harry with an expression as if he was struggling with the decision to ask him something. "Harry… there were rumours… Riddle forbade anyone from asking but… Last year… were you in the forest when Greyback was killed?"

"Yeah! That must be why!" Harry turned back to the screen where Krum was trying to coax Hermione onto a horse she obviously couldn't see. Delacour had woken a little girl that looked very similar to the Beauxbatons Champion herself. She was having better luck getting herself and the little girl onto a white winged horse that was immediately visible to everyone. Cedric had just passed the archway into the Dwarven Village. Harry let out a huff of annoyance, "Why don't they tell anyone about those things? It's really unsettling to come face to face with those on the first day back at school..."

"Hagrid normally covers them during the fifth year and I guess..." Fred visibly hesitated before continuing, "...it's something that parents would normally explain to their children before then…"

Harry let out a quiet snort as they turned their attention back to the screens, it's not a conversation he could imagine having with the Dursleys. Two winged horses launched into the air almost simultaneously, accompanied by two screams. One of abject terror from Hermione and an utter squeal of delight from the little girl clinging onto the horse's neck.

"What in Merlin's-" Cedric muttered through his heavy breathing, presumably at the sight of Krum and Hermione gliding through the air unaided, huddled in an awkward position. He then saw Delacour and after a quick shake of his head hurried towards the sleeping Katrien. As soon as Cedric touched her hand she shot up forwards, narrowly managing to avoid crashing their heads together.

She looked momentarily confused but then she leapt off the altar with a grin, her wand already in her hand. "Alright Cedric, where are the dragons?"

"No dragons this time." there was definitely a grin evident in his voice. "We just have to get… oh cra-"

"What is it?" Kat was cheerfully waving at the children on top of the building but whirled around with her wand ready. Cedric sighed and pointed at what he was staring at. "A winged horse? Do we ride it out of here?"

"I think so… There isn't much time left, we need to hurry." Cedric's voice seemed oddly muffled but he held onto Kat's hand and walked towards the horse. He slowed as he neared the horse and his breathing became hitched, until he let out a loud sneeze.

"You're allergic to horses?" came Kat's amused voice, which Cedric confirmed between several more sneezes. "Well Mr. Champion, might I recommend the Bubble-Head Charm?"

"Of-" a particularly loud sneeze had the horse whinnying and backing away, "-course!"

The screen turned slightly blurry and distorted but after a few further sniffles Cedric was breathing normally again. Katrien jumped onto the horse herself before Cedric followed. The horse was still slightly spooked at the violent sneezing that had come from the Hogwarts Champion, but eventually Cedric managed to encourage it into a gallop before it jumped into the air, the sound of the beating wings blanketing any other noise.

Harry gave one last look at the screens, which were now showing a countdown with less than a minute remaining, before craning his neck towards the skies to look for the Champions' return. Delacour and Krum came in to view, almost neck and neck, but as they started descending Krum started flagging a bit, possibly due to Hermione's renewed shrieks as she desperately tried to clutch onto the invisible horse's neck. Delacour landed first with about thirty seconds to go and Krum moments after. The crowd all leapt up cheering and clapping rapturously.

It was only after a full minute after the time limit that Cedric landed, but everyone still cheered for him, alongside the other Champions. A few people were out to meet them, making sure none of them were injured too badly. When they were satisfied at finding nothing immediately life threatening, they told the Champions to stay by their steeds while leading the three 'hostages' to a nearby tent, which meant Cedric still had to keep on that charm that made him look like he had an overturned fishbowl covering his head.

* * *

"Right, I think that's enough for today's lesson." Professor Riddle said cheerfully as Harry and Hermione quickly raced to finish writing up the notes from the Professor's lecture. "As for homework, I require a roll of parchment on the three most common thigmonastic magical tree species in Europe, on how to identify them and what sort of movement they exhibit. I expect it by Monday. I know I'm not giving you a lot of time, but I want to finish going through the last of the creatures the Champions faced in the forest before going back to the original lesson plans. If you have some time, see if you can identify the final two creatures that Cedric and Miss Delacour encountered during the task as well."

"Yes Professor." Harry and Hermione replied automatically, while they noted the homework.

Harry stretched his back and gave his head a little shake before starting to organise the mess of parchments in front of him. Professor Riddle approached with a smile on his face, "So, Harry. What do you think of the Tournament so far?"

"It's been pretty fun to watch, but I think Professor McGonagall was right in not letting me compete this year." Harry said truthfully. He watched the Professor nod at that statement, but sensed there was something the man wanted to say. "Is something wrong?"

"It seems I owe you another apology, Harry..." Riddle sighed at Harry's questioning look and answered, "The Thestrals..."

"Oh." it in the week following the task Harry's mind had wandered to the worst places. It felt like it was another thing that the Headmaster was keeping from him, another hint that the Headmaster couldn't trust him. But their relationship was already strained enough. If Harry said everything he was thinking, it would cross a line, one that he didn't want to touch. "There were more important things that needed to be sorted out. Ernie was hurt, Remus was in Azkaban and there were two wizards, somehow linked to Grindelwald, in the school grounds. You had more important things on your mind."

Professor Riddle shook his head, "I'm the Headmaster, it's my job to look after each and every one of my students. Besides, even if it was hectic the days after the incident, I had months to talk to you about it, but it just... never crossed my mind..."

"It's fine Professor. Really." Harry reassured him. "It was… unsettling to see them for the first time, but now that I know what they are… I talked to Hagrid about them and he told me a lot of stuff. About how they're not as bad as everyone makes them out to be. And he promised to let me ride one next year. Hermione seemed to really enjoy it."

Harry sent a cheeky grin to his friend, who scowled in reply. Professor Riddle chuckled, "That's good to know. I can't imagine how you must have felt though, seeing something that no one else seemed to see."

"Yeah… I guess..." there was a curious tone in the Headmaster's words that made Harry chuckle nervously. With a sideways glance he saw Hermione staring at him intently, her hand frozen mid air with a book she was about to place into her bag. She caught Harry looking at her and immediately started packing away her things again. "I thought it was just another effect from wearing the Nullificare Charm, that's why I didn't mention it."

The Professor looked at him with a mildly thoughtful expression, "I haven't heard of hallucinations being one of the possible side effects of the Charm..."

"Well, it turned out to be real and not a hallucination, so..." Harry shrugged, giving a weak laugh, "And nothing like that has happened since I took it off."

"That's certainly good..." Riddle nodded as if judging Harry to be telling the truth, then added as an afterthought, "Seeing or hearing things that aren't there is never really a good sign, is it?"

"No, I guess not." Harry agreed and smiled at what he hoped was the Headmaster's joke and not a subtle hint that he might know what had happened to him during the summer.

"Well then, hurry along then. We'll be leaving in half an hour." Harry and Hermione quickly left the classroom before heading to their own rooms to drop everything off before coming back downstairs. All the Hogwarts students were gathered there, waiting excitedly. A little trip had been organised for the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons delegations, with a few Durmstrang students tagging along as well. It was supposedly to relieve some tension from the ordeal of the second task.

"Where's Cedric?" Hermione asked the room and they told her that he was out back. "Come on Harry, let's go see him..."

"You don't want to see _him_ , you just want to see _her_." Harry smirked but followed her anyway. They went to the back of the common room and walked through a door that hadn't been there before. It led them outside, right next to a temporary wooden structure that had been raised at the same time the door was created. Harry knocked and called inside, "Cedric? Can we come inside?"

"Sure." at Cedric's muffled voice they opened the door to be greeted by the smell of fresh hay and the musky scent of an animal. Hermione immediately approached the winged horse, the same one that had helped Cedric and Kat out of the forest, and gently stroked her head. Harry walked over to Cedric and couldn't help but crack a grin at Hogwarts Champion. Cedric rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes. I look ridiculous having to constantly have this over my head. Ugh, why did it have to be horses?"

After the scores were given to the Champions, they were told that they would need to care for and 'bond' with their own horses for the upcoming final task. They were all well trained, so they didn't have to worry about that, but Metaxas had told them that the deeper the trust between steed and rider, the less they would have to use their own two feet and therefore, they would stand a greater chance of winning the Triwizard Tournament. So Cedric visited the horse, which was named Falhófnir, several times a day, to feed and groom her whenever he found time.

"Has she stopped trying to bite your head?" Harry asked with a grin.

Cedric sighed, "Not completely. I finally heard back from Hagrid and he told me that she might be offended by the Bubble-Head Charm I keep on whenever I'm near her. It's not as if I have a choice..."

"Well, you might want to finish up. Professor Riddle said we're leaving in half and hour. Actually, it's probably more like twenty minutes now..." Harry said and dragged Hermione out. The day after the second task, she was allowed to come close enough to pet the horse and moments afterwards she borrowed Harry's mirror to ask, or more like demand, Hagrid when they were going to be learning about winged horses.

They eventually gathered in front of the train and the Headmaster led them all towards the keep. They met up with the Beauxbatons students and their huge Headmistress along the way. Harry caught sight of Corinne and gave her a little wave and she returned a smile but stayed with her own school friends. When Harry turned back to Hermione her face was a mixture of a smirk and a frown, one like she usually made when she had a question she _really_ wanted to know the answer to. Harry waited with bated breath for what he'd been expecting for a while now.

"So..." Hermione whispered, glancing around to make sure she wasn't overheard. "What's going on between you and Corinne?"

They have had an unspoken agreement for the past two months, Hermione wouldn't bring up Corinne and in turn Harry wouldn't mention whatever was going on between his friend and a certain international Quidditch player, despite being slightly curious. Hermione had appeared in more than one wizarding gossip magazines after dancing with Krum at the Yule Ball. Although she dismissed them as 'trashy', 'idiotic' or 'complete and utter rubbish', she didn't seem to completely hate the attention, at least the ones that didn't write her up as a 'celebrity chasing hag'. She had taken a lot of time on her appearance that night and although it wasn't for the benefit of the entire wizarding world, she wasn't completely immune to the compliments thrown at her dress robes and how she had done up her hair.

Harry shrugged, "Not much, we're just… friends."

Harry bit down his lower lip to prevent a grin forming on his face, one that appeared every time he recalled the night of the Yule Ball. Hermione raised her eyebrow, "Really, Harry? Why do you have that ridiculous smirk every time someone mentions her."

"I do not!" Harry purposely rearranged his face into a grimace that sent Hermione giggling. "And I was being honest, she really said that. You know… that we should just be friends."

Hermione sent him a confused look, "Well you certainly aren't acting like someone who's been rejected..."

"Yeah, but she's right. We'll be going back to Hogwarts in a few months and..." Harry gave another shrug. Hermione nodded knowingly with a crease in her brows. He muttered in barely a whisper, "The night wasn't all bad though..."

"Did you kiss?" Harry coughed and went beet red at Hermione's blunt question, frantically looking around to see if anyone had heard her.

"W..wh..what are you talking about? I… we… didn't… not..." Harry knew that Hermione wasn't buying his denial, her knowing look speaking volumes. Thankfully his friend did have a bit of tact and didn't question him any further.

They arrived at the Hall of Tapestries to find Headmistress Edda and a group of students waiting for them. "Ah, Headmistress, Headmaster, just in time. I hope you are all ready to leave? Good, good. Deputy Headmaster Karkaroff will be handling things from here."

She was indicating to a man Harry hadn't noticed before, he stood with his fingers rubbing his little goatee as he regarded the arrivals with a thin smile. "Professor Riddle, Professor Maxime. This will be a little treat for all of us, no?"

The Professors made small noises of agreement, but Harry noticed Professor Riddle's smile briefly slip before returning. Karkaroff walked over to a part of the Tapestry that Harry hadn't looked at before, it was a seascape where several ships from centuries past launched cannon balls at each other, while sea serpents and giant squids looked on. One ship in particular caught Harry's attention, one that looked like a ghost ship with black sails from stories of pirates, that was heading for a giant whirlpool.

Karkaroff tapped that whirlpool with his wand and it started spinning faster, growing wider with each second, until it eventually swallowed all the ships and the creatures into a black abyss, until only the ghostly light from the black sailed ship remained. It slowly blinked out and vanished as well. Then with a sharp click the whirlpool stopped moving and Harry blinked several times. Even though Harry had seen it several times by now, it was still astonishing to see the tapestry change itself into a door, or in this case, an open passageway. They walked quickly down the steadily declining slope, their breaths slowly starting to mist as they went in deeper underground. The atmosphere seemed to discourage chatter and only Professor Karkaroff made small talk with the other two professors. The passageway eventually widened into a large cavern with shimmering lights coming from the ceiling and walls and for the second time that day Harry had to blink to make sure he was seeing correctly. "Are we under the lake?"

"Herm-Own-Ninny." Krum smiled at Hermione as he came forwards and gave Harry a small nod. "You are correct, Harry Potter. We are under the lake. We come here for that."

Harry looked at where Krum was pointing and gasped. It was the same ship from the tapestry, the one with the skeletal frame and black sails, the one that had endured the whirlpool the longest. It took him a moment to realise that the ship seemed strangely suspended in the air, but that wasn't it. The ship and in fact this whole area was underwater, they were just standing in a huge bubble that allowed them to breath. The shimmering he thought was coming from the walls were in fact the sun hitting the surface of the lake and casting the dim glow through the watery depths.

"Ahem!" Karkaroff cleared his throat as he looked around at the foreign students with a smug look on his face, pleased at the impressed expressions most of them were sporting. He gave a short laugh as he twirled his goatee, "I hope none of you get seasick! Well then, what are you waiting for! ALL ABOARD!"

* * *

 **A/N**

Well there you go! Honestly I'm not completely happy with this chapter, in fact I'm not too keen on both of my Triwizard task chapters. Having Harry just passively sit by, staring at a screen seems a bit dull and also a nightmare to write about properly. It's like writing about someone telling you what they're seeing as they watch a film, rather than just writing about the film, if that makes any sense. As for the task itself, it sort of became how many creatures from the Fantastic Beasts textbook or Norse Mythology I could squeeze in a single chapter. And Dwarfs, they do exist in the HP universe! They're not prominently featured in the original books, but they are mentioned. And since they're quite important in Norse mythology, I thought I'd have them on the mountains near Durmstrang.

I don't know, was it too similar to the second task in the books? Ah well, it's done and finished now. =p

Still, I think there are a few important things that happened in this chapter so... Yeah. Had to be written...

I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you all next week!


	35. Year 4 - Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **The Witnesses**

 _Harry_

 _Sorry, I heard you've been trying to get in touch with me. I've been working nights so I couldn't find a good time to contact you through the mirror. I hope it's nothing important, give a message to Remus if there's anything that can't wait until our next little Auror adventure!_

 _Okay, so the Headmaster doesn't want me to worry you with this and Remus agrees with him, but there's been rumours of something about to happen in Europe. We have nothing solid, but your name has been popping up a few times. There isn't much anyone can do, but make sure you keep your eyes and ears open and even when your inside the school grounds, make sure you're always with someone._

 _Sorry again to sound so bleak and sorry to cut this letter short, but I have to head off again for work. I'll see you soon._

 _Take care._

 _Sirius_

* * *

The ship glided underwater and while the Durmstrang students helped steer the ship, everyone else gathered on the deck to admire the wonders of the deep. Karkaroff stood with his chest puffed up, his words slightly boastful, as he gave them a very elaborate explanation of what he considered one of the most fantastic methods of transportation anywhere in the wizarding world.

Harry only half listened to the man's ramblings as he found himself next to Corinne. He smiled at her, "So, do you have any idea where we're going?"

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment then gave a mischievous grin, "I might… but you'll have to wait until we arrive..."

As the wooden vessel navigated underwater caverns and passageways they spent the time quietly staring at shoals of tiny colourful fish, huge shark like beasts, as well as other creatures you definitely wouldn't notice as a Muggle, Harry was sure he saw a group of merpeople at one point. They glided pass sunken ships, forests of dancing sea plants and huge gaping vents that spewed smoky white bubbles towards them and eventually he saw the waters around him grow lighter and he felt a slight pressure in his ears as they started to rapidly ascend towards the surface.

The ship broke through the waves with a loud crash and Harry was almost blinded by the sudden sunlight raining down onto them. He breathed in a lungful of fresh air and heard the excited chatter of a crowd in the distance.

"We have arrived!" the Deputy Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute announced happily. "Welcome to Lake Uddjaure, the best place to watch the Swedish Annual Broom Race!"

There were whooping cheers from the students and Harry joined in as well, but he mumbled a question at Corinne as well as Hermione and Krum who had just joined them, "What's the Annual Broom Race?"

"What do you think it is?" Corinne laughed.

"You haven't heard of it?" Krum asked in disbelief. "It's very famous, anyone with any interest in Quidditch or flying should know about it. People come from all over the world to watch it."

Harry suppressed a scowl, "I grew up with Muggles and in the three years since I found out about the wizarding world, no one's mentioned any broom races."

Krum shrugged, not noticing Harry's irritation, "It's… a broom race. The contestants fly about four hundred miles across Sweden finishing just beyond the lake over there. It's mostly about speed, but they do have to fly pass a dragon reservation so, as you can probably imagine, there are a few injuries every year."

Harry looked towards the island where the ship was in the process of mooring against. It looked like there was a village on the island, smaller than Hogsmeade, but there was quite a lot of people walking around, browsing through numerous little stalls that were set up on the outskirts, presumably to take advantage of the crowd. Harry frowned, trying to recall the letters from Ron he had received during the summer, specifically to the one he sent after watching the Quidditch World Cup Finals. Even though there were a lot of people here, considering what Krum said about the popularity of this event, it was nowhere near the throng of sporting enthusiasts that Ron described in his letters.

"Loads of people are probably at the starting line right now, to watch the competitors take off. A few minutes after the race starts there will be loads of people Apparating here." Corinne caught Harry's expression and explained.

Karkaroff, who had spent the whole journey not doing much, flourished his wand and lowered a footbridge with a soft thud. He offered his hand to Madame Maxime and she stepped tentatively onto the thin wooden plank and after testing her considerable weight on it, disembarked along with her students. Professor Riddle and the Hogwarts students went after them and as Harry passed Professor Karfaroff, the man smirked at him, showing yellowed teeth, "Enjoy yourself, Mr. Potter."

Harry gave a polite nod and hurried to catch up with Hermione, who was craning her neck to see beyond the taller students. Professor Riddle shouted at Fred and George, who started speeding away as soon as their feet hit the ground, and eventually managed to gather all of his students together, "The race will start in about half an hour so you're welcome to have a look around until then, but don't wander off on your own. Stay together in groups and I want you all back here before the rest of the spectators get here."

With a chorus of, "Yes Professor Riddle." everyone split away into smaller groups. George stopped mid-stride while chasing his brother and called out, "Harry, do you want to come with us?"

"No..." Harry looked towards the Beauxbatons party, where Madame Maxime was still in the middle of addressing her students. Hermione gave him a small nod and Harry turned to George, "I'll stick with Hermione and..."

Even though he didn't say the name out loud George knew who he was talking about and laughed, before waving and running off. Hermione looked intently at Harry, "You really like her, don't you?"

"Who? Corinne?" Harry blushed as his eyes met with the girl in question. Harry hastily faced Hermione and gave a little shrug, "I told you, we're just friends..."

"I know. It's just… unusual..." Hermione spoke carefully. "I'm just curious, how did you end up becoming friends? You don't seem to have much in common..."

Harry racked his brain for something that he could tell her, "It's… easy to talk to her. She doesn't treat me like I'm… Harry Potter. You know what I mean."

"I guess..." Hermione trailed off as she stared at Corinne.

"It must be like with you and Krum." Harry's words startled Hermione. "You two don't really have much in common either, but you and Krum seem quite close..."

"You said my name?" the Bulgarian Quidditch Player's sudden appearance caused the two friends to jump.

"We were… um… just saying..." Hermione sent Harry a look asking for help.

"Oh… about… how you'd probably do quite well if you were competing in the race." Harry quickly finished for her.

Krum shook his head. "No. You must be very light to do well in the race. In fact, I think you would do better than I would."

"Me?"

"Yes, you are a very good flyer Harry Potter. You would easily find a broom maker to sponsor you." Krum looked completely serious as he said this and he continued with a thoughtful frown. "I do not know how old you must be to race, but maybe… I know a few people that could get into contact with-"

Harry gave a nervous laugh, brushing a hand through his hair, "No. No. It's… I wouldn't be… I mean flying through a dragon reservation? I'd never survive that!"

Krum gave him a simple nod and immediately dropped the subject before turning to Hermione, "Shall we go?"

"Oh… Corinne is still with her Headmistress." Krum's face tightened at Hermione's words but he agreed to wait. When she wasn't looking Krum shot a less than friendly look as if he was blaming Harry for something. When the Beauxbaton students finally broke apart Hermione jumped up and waved, "Hey! Over here!"

She briefly leaned over to talk to one of her friends before joining them. "Shall we get something to eat? I'm starving!"

The tantalising smell of food came wafting towards them and Harry's stomach rumbled. They spent some time moving between the food stalls, listening to the vendors enthusiastically hawking their wares, jumping between a variety of languages to attract the international crowd. In the end Harry went for a cinnamon bun and a mug of deliciously thick hot chocolate that delighted his tastebuds with it's silky sweetness. They munched on their food while browsing through the souvenir stands, selling everything between huge posters of famous racers as well as miniature brooms that flew around almost like a Golden Snitch.

"Good sirs and ma'ams!" a rotund man with a thick American accent called out to them, "How would you like to see the action right up close?"

He tipped his cap towards the large pile of colourful goggles littered around him. Harry brushed the last of the crumbs off his hands before picking one up. "What do you mean?"

"Well now..." he gave them a shrewd look, "You lot are from the schools, aren't you? From the European Triwizard thingy? They use the same charms to broadcast the tasks for everyone to see."

Harry lifted the goggles over his eyes and his vision went completely black for a moment, then suddenly he saw a wizard and a witch wearing Quidditch robes gliding through the air on broomsticks. They carried on for a while until the words ' _Nimbus Racing Broom Company –_ _Making the highest quality racing brooms since 1967_ ' started flashing before his eyes. "I don't get it, it's advertising broomsticks?"

"Only until the race actually starts!" the wizard laughed. "After that you'll be able to see the race from from the view of one of the competitors! As I said, they use the same charms in your tournament, onto a little headband that they wear. Now we have some big names competing this year, Valeriya the Vladivostok Firebrand, Featherlight Fudd, Saracura the Shearer-"

"What about Cheon?" Krum interrupted.

The saleswizard gave an all too dramatic sweep of his hands in the air, "Ah, the Korean Kestral? You have an eye for last year's champion? Unfortunately, she is one of the witches that refuses to wear the headbands, says it distracts her from the race… But there are plenty of others who have a good chance of winning this year!"

"So how much is it?" Corinne asked with her head stuck in the goggles.

The wizard flashed a brilliant smile, rubbed his hands together and started speaking in a conspiratory whisper, "Well now, hear me out… I'll be giving you four the student discount of course, and bear in mind, without this, you'll just be staring out into that patch of sky for three hours. You'll also be able to re-watch the race at any time afterwards, until the charm wears off..."

"And how long is that?" Harry asked.

The wizard shook his hand dismissively, "Oh, it can be a few months to a year or two, plenty of time to enjoy it!"

"You still haven't told us the cost..." Corinne asked suspiciously.

"You can have them for... Ah! It pains me to give them away at such a cheap price! Just for forty five Galleons!" for added effect he gripped his chest as if he was suffering a heart attack.

Hermione let out an incredulous snort, "You're joking right? _Forty five_ Galleons?"

Harry could likely afford one, but he decided that it was a bit too much money to spend at once. He didn't entirely trust the saleswizard either, concerning the longevity of the charms. Harry put the goggle down but the American picked it up again and shoved it back into his hands, "Okay! Okay! You're twisting my arm, but I'll do it for forty Galleons! You won't find it cheaper anywhere else!"

"No thank you." Hermione declared sharply. Krum whispered something in her ear and she hissed back, "No! I mean… No thank you. You don't need to buy one for me."

They declined the next offer ("Alright, alright! If you buy four of them, I'll give them away for a hundred and fift-") and quickly moved away. After looking around a bit more Harry found a model broomstick that he could hold in the palm of his hand. The saleswizard, another American but with a less aggressive sales pitch, explained that if he bought two they could be used to race one another. He bought a Nimbus Two Thousand for himself and a Firebolt that he thought Ron might like. Hermione picked up a little booklet with the dry title of ' _The History of_ _the Swedish Annual Broom Race_ ' and Corinne was currently browsing through rows of posters with wizards and witches holding broomsticks.

"Hey." Krum said suddenly. "That looks interesting..."

He had a tight grip on Harry and Hermione, and dragged them along, giving no choice but Corinne to follow with a disgruntled mumble. Harry looked in the direction they were moving but it seemed Krum was leading them away from the festivities and towards the village. "Hey, where are we-"

Krum quickly hushed Harry and he immediately got a sense that something was wrong. Even though he had only been on a few missions with Sirius and Moody, one thing that he had learnt was that sometimes it was good to trust his instincts. He shot Hermione a look and her narrowed eyes widened, and as she was about to open her mouth Harry gave his head a sharp shake.

After walking for a few minutes they reached the nearest house and turned around the corner of the building. They took a few steps before stopping. Krum and Harry already had their wands out and the girls quickly followed suit. They stayed completely still and over the din of the crowd in the distance, they heard the soft footsteps and mumbles of someone nearby. A figure turned the corner and was greeted with two Disarming Charms, which the person managed to quickly deflect, only to slip on a patch of wet grass and stumble to the ground with a yelp.

Krum briefly hesitated on seeing the figure on the ground, but quickly said. "Who are you? Why are you following us?"

"Oww… ah… crap..." the witch muttered before giving them a weak smile through the brown hair covering half of her face. "I'm… I'm a fan?"

"A fan?" Corinne scoffed harshly. "With reactions like that?"

"She's right, you know how to defend yourself. Now, tell us why you're really following us." Krum waited for the witch to give them an answer, but she kept silent and just scrunched her face as if thinking of an excuses. "Very well. We will take you to the professors. Will you come quietly or do we have to restrain you?"

The witch didn't look worried but she darted her head side to side as if she was looking for something. She let out a long sigh and her hand tensed around the wand she was still holding. Krum let out a snarl and raised his wand, but froze when a menacing growl came from behind them, "Drop the wand laddie, or I'll drop it for you!"

Harry, Krum and Hermione spun around only to find nobody standing behind them. Corinne shouted out a spell and Harry kicked himself for leaving his back turned on a suspect, Moody wouldn't be too pleased if he every found out. When Harry was facing the witch again, his eyebrows shot up. There was a witch there, she was standing now and facing them with her wand raised, but it wasn't the one with the nondescript brown hair that had slipped, the young witch standing before them had hair of a shocking shade of bubblegum pink. Harry was surprised a second time when she opened her mouth and said in the same voice as the 'fan', "Will you hurry up and explain it to them!"

Out of nowhere, Moody suddenly appeared and he seemed to be holding onto a dull silvery cloak. He gave Harry a feral grin, "Potter! That's twice you've turned back on a potential enemy! What have I been telling you every time?"

"Constant vigilance..." Harry groaned. He put a hand on top of Krum's arm, who was pointing his wand at Moody, "It's fine… I know him, he's an Auror."

"And her? The _Metamorphmagus_?" Corinne asked coolly. She was still glaring daggers at the witch and was receiving one in return, both had their wands aimed directly at each other's chests.

"She's with me." Moody barked, "So call off your girlfriend, Potter."

"She's not-" Harry stopped himself and sighed. "What are you doing here Moody? Is Sirius with you?"

"Moody?" Hermione and Corinne both whispered at the same time. Corinne lowered her wand to stare at the grizzled Auror and said in an even lower whisper, "He looks worse than he does in the photos..."

Moody gave a quiet snort and ignored the comment that he probably heard, Harry had learnt that the Auror had very sharp ears. "I'm here Potter, along with a few dozen other Aurors, to act as security for the race. Black had other business to attend to."

"We didn't see any Aurors..." Hermione said quietly.

"Of course you didn't!" Moody roared with laughter that died a second later, "Well… not until Tonks here messed up. You there, the Quidditch player, you have a good eye on you. Had any thoughts of becoming an Auror?"

"...No." Krum said. "So… you were following Potter?"

"Just to keep an eye out." the witch called Tonks shrugged.

Harry suddenly remembered a letter he received from Sirius a few days ago. "Do you think something's going to happen here today?"

Tonks raised her head to stare at the sky but Moody met Harry's gaze head on, "I keep telling you Potter, always expect the worst and be prepared for it… It's almost time for the race to start, Tonks, escort them back to the ship."

"Will do, I'll see you in a bit Moody." Tonks said cheerfully. "Alright then, the rest of you, follow me."

They started walking back, the witch called Tonks chattering non-stop as she excitedly pointed at various things from the stalls. When she stopped for breath, Harry finally managed a question, "So, what's a... Meta...metamor-"

"Metamorphmagus. It means I can do this!" she squinted her eyes in concentration and within seconds her hair grew rapidly and turned back to the murky brown. She gave Harry a wink, "Pretty cool, huh?"

"It really is..." Harry stared for a moment before his eyes widened in excitement. "Did you learn how to do that while training as an Auror?"

She chuckled slightly, eyeing Harry's forehead, "I'm afraid it's not something you can learn, Metamorphmagism is a talent you have to be born with. You'll have to use spells or potions if you want to change your appearance."

Harry deflated. When had it ever been simple for him? "So… you can change into-"

"Harry, look!" Corinne interrupted, pointing at something in the distance. It looked like a few wizards were raising enormous white screens, identical to the ones they used for watching the Triwizard tasks.

Hermione let out a scoff, "Hmph, that man selling the goggles didn't mention _that_."

At Tonks' questioning look Harry quickly filled her in on what had happened. She laughed out loud, "There's always one or two that'll try and swindle you. I should probably report him or something, could you point him out for me?"

They looked around, but it seemed that the wizard and his stall were gone. Tonks thought that with the screens going up, he probably decided he wasn't going to get any more sales and escaped before he was surrounded by dissatisfied customers.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Sorry!" Harry quickly ducked his head and avoided the man. He was only half paying attention to where he was going and was staring at the screen in the distance. It had flickered into life, half the screen showing an advert very similar to the one he had seen through the goggles, while the other half was a bird's eye view of the contestants making the final preparations of adjusting their robes or checking their broomsticks for any stray twigs. The person who was presumably wearing one of those headbands turned their head to face an absolute mob of ecstatically cheering fans. Huge banners with writing in a multitude of languages and huge blown up photos of the racers were being waved around.

"Those people… they're going to all be coming here once the race starts?" Hermione gasped.

"That's why they want you back at the ship before that happens." Tonks explained, gently pushing aside a sightly inebriated witch. "You'll be able to watch it from there."

Another advertisement flashed across the whole screen this time, showing blocky letters in another language he had never seen before. A witch with a pale and expressionless face walked across, holding out a broomstick. She showed none of the enthusiasm of the previous racers promoting the broom companies, but the crowd on the island all went crazy.

As they continued to weave their way in and out of people towards the ship, the screen changed again showing the starting point of the race and the crowd that was gathered there, but Harry immediately sensed that there was something off. The exuberant cheering had died down somewhat and a lot of people seemed to be looking in the other direction, pointing at something. The screen turned sharply and focused on something in the distance, figures covered from head to toe in black. More and more of these figures appeared by Apparition to join them. Tonks stopped Harry and she stared at the screen, as an unsettled murmuring broke out around them.

Over the din Harry thought he heard something behind him and turned around. Everyone had their eyes fixed onto the screen but through the crowd Harry caught a glimpse of the same black robed figures that were currently appearing at the starting line of the race. Another one popped out of nowhere and the disturbance in the air caused by the Apparating lifted the black veil, making it cone forwards. The sight gave Harry a horrible shiver. It reminded him of the giant effigy that was burnt on Halloween, the one of Grindelwald with the head of a crow.

"I..is this… part of the race?" Harry stuttered, even though in his heart, he already knew the answer.

"No. It… is not..." Krum's voice was trembling slightly. His face was pale and held an expression of fear, something that Harry had never seen on the Durmstrang Champion before.

"We need to ge-" the young Auror's voice was suddenly interrupted as screams sounded from the crowd. People were finally beginning to notice that the danger was not hundreds of miles away. Tonks saw them as well and she gripped Harry's arm tightly and shouted over the noise, "Keep your heads down and follow me!"

She dragged Harry along, roughly pushing aside anyone standing in their way. A couple of people challenged her only to back away after a single glance, she had changed her face again and now resembled an angry troll that had been in a fight with three other angry trolls and won. A few people were doing a very strange dance of twirling on the spot. Tonks saw this and swore colourfully, but didn't slow down.

A huge explosion near the ship caused Tonks to stumble and Harry was dragged onto the grass with her. As the smoke slowly cleared the first thing Harry saw was Madame Maxime moving with surprising speed and grace, sending dancing lights and terrible fire to some unseen foe. A panicking mass started fleeing from the curses and hexes flying through the air, from the dozens of wizards and witches locked in a fierce duel. Professor Riddle was also there, as were several students from the schools, who were slowly retreating back towards the village while fighting off the attackers.

Someone grabbed Harry by the scruff of his neck and as he was dragged up to his feet, he waved his wand in a panic, " _Stupefy!_ "

"Potter… we'll have to work on your aim..." Moody's rough voice was distracted as he was assessing the situation instead of looking at Harry. "Tonks! Get up!"

"Harry!" Hermione ran over and threw her arms around him. He gave a slight pat on her back the pulled away as he tried to listen to the two Auror's talking.

"-nmed anti-Disapparition-"

"-out Portkeys? Who has-"

"-are both down. It won't be easy to get-"

"Guantopiedi, he has the-"

Moody grunted, "Last I heard, he was patrolling the village."

"We'll have to hope he's still alive then." Tonks said determinedly. Thin worried lines creased her forehead as she motioned at Harry. "Are they after him?"

"I don't know, but that would be my guess." without a word Moody pulled Harry forwards and threw the Invisibility Cloak around him. "You stay under there, understood?"

"What? No!" Harry pulled the cloak off. "I'm not hiding while everyone else is in danger!"

Moody narrowed his eyes. "You know who these are? These are Krähenkönigs Zeugen, the Crowking's Witnesses, that's what they call themselves. They're Grindelwald's fanatics. What do you think they'll do when they catch sight of the boy who killed off their old master?"

Harry swallowed nervously and stared at Hermione and Corinne. "Okay… but there's enough space under the cloak for another person or two."

"I'll be fine Harry." Corinne said hurriedly. "Hermione should probably go with you though."

"Fine." as soon as Moody agreed, Harry covered both their bodies with the cloak and gripped Hermione's shaking hand tightly. "Tonks, we'll need a distraction."

The witch scrunched up her face again and her hair grew short and messy, her eyes flashed green and a scar slowly formed on her forehead, one that was bigger and much more noticeable than the one Harry had. No one who actually knew Harry would mistake her for him, but from a distance he had to admit, it would probably be a passable resemblance. "That's the best I can do right now..."

"It'll do. Take the north side and make some noise, we'll try and sneak through the south." Tonks was off in a flash. Moody started a quick limp in the other direction, "Potter, you and the other one, stay under the cloak. Do not peek out, do not stretch your arms to cast a spell, just follow quietly. You two, get your wands out and watch our backs."

Moody cut through the crowd, giving Harry and Hermione a little space to follow, but they couldn't avoid everyone, thankfully they were too frightened to notice or care. They suddenly hit a wall of people suddenly changing direction and charging straight towards them. Hermione gave a little whimper, "There's more of them..."

Moody licked his lips with a smirk, clearing itching to get into the fight instead of babysitting the four students. He waited for Krum and Corinne catch up, "I'll hold them off, get these two into the village. Try and find some Aurors."

He roared a battlecry as he threw himself at the veiled figures, dropping two of them before they even realised what was going on. The two older students called for Harry and Hermione to follow, before breaking into a sprint while deflecting the few spells coming their way. Moody's wild magic was loud and flashy keeping the attention firmly on himself.

It was quieter once they got inside the village, no one was out in the open and Harry only saw a few people peeking out through the windows, most likely behind a tightly locked door and as many protection spells they could muster.

"THE CROWKING SEES ALL!" a witch came out from behind a building and started screaming curses at them.

" _Protego!_ " Krum grunted as he clutched his side where a purple flash of light had grazed.

"Viktor!" Hermione cried out and tried to leave the protection of the cloak, but Harry held her back.

Krum stared at Corinne, "Get them out of here!"

"Go! GO!" Corinne's hands fumbled as she tried to locate where they were standing under the invisibility cloak and pushed them into a run.

Krum exploded forwards with a harsh cry in his native tongue, as he met the crazed witch in a duel. It felt wrong to leave him behind and even Hermione kept looking back, dragging her feet but Corinne relentlessly urged them on. They passed what looked like a little pub and they heard a loud crash and voices locked in battle. They moved towards the sounds and ran straight into two of the Zeugen, thankfully with their backs turned.

Harry didn't slow down and pulled Hermione in the other direction, while hissing at Corinne to make sure she followed them. Hermione suddenly let out a startled yelp and fell forwards, Harry tried to hold her up but they were moving too fast and collapsed onto the ground. He tried to struggle to his feet, "Corinne! No!"

Corinne ignored him and stepped in front of them, " _Silencio! Stupefy! REDUCTO!_ "

The walls of the pub exploded outwards showering the two Zeugen in dust. She didn't wait to see if she had managed to stop them and continued forwards, sending spell after spell into the murky cloud. Harry quickly pulled Hermione to her feet but she screamed and collapsed against him. "M..my ankle..."

Harry looked up as he heard a crash and saw that the dust had settled, but he couldn't find Corinne. One of the black robed figures was on the ground completely still. But the other, one that he could identify as a pale faced wizard since his veil was torn off, was staring inside the newly made hole in the side of the building with a manic grin on his face. He licked his lips and leisurely walked inside with his wand raised.

"Corinne!" Harry gasped. As gently as he could in this situation, he lowered Hermione onto the ground. "Hermione, I'm going to leave the cloak with you. Corinne's in trouble. I'll be right back."

"Harry, don't-" but he brushed off her tight grip and sprinted into the pub. It took him only a moment to take in what was happening and he was suddenly very grateful for the chance he had to work with the Aurors.

The man had Corinne gripped by the throat and was lifting her up slightly so that she was standing on the tip of her toes. Her wand had dropped uselessly onto the ground and she was desperately using both hands to try and loosen the grip that had her breathing with difficulty.

" _Relashio!_ " Harry bellowed. The jinx hit the wizard with enough force to not only release his grip on Corinne, but to drag him sideways a few feet. With a soundless snarl he turned to Harry, but the boy was already waving his wand. " _Incarcerous! Stupefy!_ "

He cut the ropes with a soundless spell, but was unable to dodge the speeding red flash from hitting him in his chest, sending him flying into a couple of barstools and knocking him out cold. Harry ran up to Corinne and helped her onto her feet as she took in deep gulps of breath. "H..Harry..."

"Are y-" Harry's words were cut off as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight but shaky hug. Harry held her just as firmly and quietly whispered reassuringly into her ear.

She slowly pulled away and looked at him with clear blue eyes. "You came for me… You saved my life..."

"Of cour-" Harry froze as she pressed her lips onto his. This was different. It wasn't awkward, it wasn't a simple meeting of lips, it was _heated_. Her fingers slithered and tangled themselves into his hair and she pulled him closer. It was just short of painful. It felt like flying and falling, like a tricky Quidditch manoeuvre and just like that it left him breathless.

Hours or seconds later (Harry couldn't really tell) there was a short and uncomfortable cough coming from behind them. Corinne pulled away and Harry let out a pathetic whimper before facing the three people that had just entered the pub. Fred, George and Angelina were there all biting their lips, trying to prevent a smirk. Fred cleared his throat, "Harry... really? Not the best time for snogging, is it?"

"N..no." Harry shook his head. "Corinne, are you okay?"

She nodded mutely and crouched to pick up her wand before making her way out of the crumbling structure with Harry. Cedric and the two Ravenclaw girls were surrounding Hermione tentatively prodding her swollen ankle with their wands. Hermione's eyes narrowed when she saw Harry, "You-! What were you thinking!"

Harry looked confused for a moment, "I left you the cloak. There was no one else around, so you weren't in any danger..."

"Tha-" Hermione let out a hiss as Sylvia flicked her wand, causing Hermione's ankle to glow briefly. "That's not what I mean! Moody told you to stay under the cloak! You could have been killed!"

Before Harry could retort, Corinne said coolly, "If Harry had come three seconds later, I would be dead."

Everyone stopped moving and fell silent at that chilling statement. Hermione worked her mouth trying to think of a reply, but eventually her shoulders sagged and she stared at the ground. Harry sighed, "Where's Professor Riddle?"

"He stayed behind with Madame Maxime, trying to give us a little more time to escape." a Beauxbatons boy Harry hadn't noticed spoke up.

A handful of students from each of the schools were standing watch in a wide circle, to make sure they had warning if any more of the Zeugen arrived. Cedric helped Hermione onto her feet, "We should get moving again. Hermione, can you walk?"

"I… I think so..." she winced slightly, but managed to put some weight on her injured leg without collapsing. "Have you seen Viktor? We were split up..."

Everyone shook their heads and Hermione made a move to go back the way they came, but she was stopped by Katrien. "You can't go back. There's a lot of them back there."

"But..." she turned to Harry for help, but he could only shake his head. They had no idea where he was and blindly looking for him might just end up attracting unwanted attention. That was something they couldn't afford in their situation. Hermione wasn't the only one with injuries, everyone there had cuts and bruises, burns, uncontrollably shaking hands or slight limps. In fact, apart from little smudges of dirt and dust, Harry was the only one there that was unscathed and Hermione's look of betrayal only made him feel more guilty.

"If there's any student on the island right now that I'd believe survive a load of dark wizards and witches, it's Viktor Krum. I'm sure he'll be fine." Katrien said reassuringly.

"You're right…" Hermione eventually nodded. She picked up the invisibility cloak and held it out to Harry, her eyes not completely meeting his. "You should get back under the cloak."

Harry felt a sliver of annoyance and took a step back. Corinne gently reached out for his shoulder and gave it a little squeeze, "Harry, if they catch sight of you we'll all be in more danger. You don't need to feel guilty about hiding..."

Everyone was staring at him but with none of the bitterness or accusations that Harry had imagined. The wizards and witches currently raising chaos on this small island were followers of Grindelwald and Harry couldn't think of any other reason for them to be here other than for him. Harry wanted to scream in frustration, what was the point of training with Aurors if it meant that he had to hide himself and be protected by people barely older than himself?

Corinne gave him a pleading look and Harry sighed defeatedly, throwing the cloak over himself and vanishing before everybody's eyes. He was about to ask Hermione to come over, but she quickly turned away and started walking as fast as her legs would allow. Corinne found Harry's hand underneath the cloak and gripped him tightly, then they followed the group of students.

Any black robed figures soon regretted considering them easy targets. Everyone here, even Harry, had spent a long hours the past year or more training for the Triwizard Tournament and even though there was only one 'Champion' among them, they were still far from helpless. The veiled figures came in groups no larger than three and as soon as one of the teenagers caught sight of them, he or she shouted out the direction. They turned as one and launched a dozen or so different hexes, curses and jinxes, leaving them a twitching mess on the ground.

"FLEUR!" the female Champion and the rest of the students were pinned inside a building that had most of it's roof and half of it's walls torn down. The group of Krähenkönigs Zeugen were the largest they had encountered so far, at least twenty of them were slowly blasting the already ruined building into dust.

"We need to help them!" Cedric looked around, quickly counting their own numbers. "Okay, they haven't noticed us yet. We'll split into three groups and hit them from three directions. Hogwarts, we go to the right, aiming for that tree. Beauxbatons, you attack from here and Drumstrangs-"

"If we go through that building, we can sneak up behind them without them noticing." someone said impatiently, "I've visited the island before."

"Alright, go." the girl nodded and the rest of the Durmstrang students followed her as she unlocked and entered a door of a long, slightly curved, building. Cedric then turned to Harry (or rather a spot slightly to the left of him), "Harry, Hermione, you two stay here under the cloak."

"No!" Harry, and surprisingly Hermione, both shouted at the same time. Harry lifted the cloak just enough that his face was visible. "We have a bloody invisibility cloak! We'd be idiots not to use it!"

"Look!" Hermione pointed into the air and they saw a man, looking roughly the same size and weight as Uncle Vernon and Dudley combined. He stood by a huge hole at the side of the building, guffawing loudly as he levitated and hurled huge chunks of masonry at the students. "We'll go up there and try and stop him. Harry's right, with the cloak, he'll never see us coming!"

Before anyone could raised an objection, Hermione darted forwards into Harry and ducked under then cloak, then she started dragging him towards the building. Harry gave Corinne's hand a squeeze and whispered "Good luck." to her before breaking into a run.

The door was off it's hinges and they stepped over it into the house. Over the broken furniture and belongings, their eyes immediately went to a deep red puddle of blood that was leading through a door ahead. There was an arm, but the rest of the body wasn't visible. Hermione let out a little sob but Harry held her tightly, "We need to hurry!"

They ran up two sets of steep stairs, not caring about the noise they made. The sound of fighting as Cedric and the others joined the fray were drowning out everything else. They stopped when they reached the landing at the uppermost floor and carefully crept their way towards the room they had seen from the outside. The wizard was cackling as he rained down curses onto their friends, then he stopped. He carefully aimed his wand at the ceiling and muttered a quiet spell.

There was a crunch then a loud continuous crack, then a huge section of the roof slowly levitated into the air. Harry shouted in panic and the wizard whirled around, his wand still holding up the building. Before the look of confusion could vanish from his face, Harry whipped his arm out from under the cloak and sent a Stunning Charm his way.

"Harry! NO!" Hermione shrieked, but it was too late. The red flash hit the man in his wide stomach and he stared down for a moment, before he started to stumble. The roof shook, sending a layer of splinters and dust down onto the two Gryfffindor's heads and Harry stared in horror as the man slipped off the building. The spell the wizard had been holding broke the same instant.

" _Wingardium Leviosa!_ " Hermione all but screamed. The roof held, but it wasn't steady. Hermione's arm was shaking with effort as she looked at Harry, "I..I can't hold it…!"

" _Wingardium Leviosa!_ " Harry copied her spell and together they managed to lift it higher and away from them. Hermione was anxiously looking at Harry for direction so he slowly walked towards where the man had been standing. He didn't take his eyes off the roof until he was at the edge. After a quick look, he pointed at a spot, "Over there."

"Wh..what?" Hermione's eyes widened. "Y..you mean… but that could..."

"It could save them." Harry said firmly as he stared down at the fighting. However much talent they had, in the end they were students, and without the advantage of greater numbers, they were losing. After a moment, Hermione nodded and together they used their wand to levitate the heavy tiled roof above the heads of a group of the black robed Zeugen. They flicked their wands downwards and the Levitation Charm broke.

Everybody stopped fighting to stare at the crash, then at the sky, before they remembered that they were in a duel for their lives. A rousing cheer erupted and it was the Zeugen on the back foot. Now they seemed less sure of their victory and a few of them kept looking at the sky for any more falling debris.

A series of loud popping sounds had Hermione utter a gasp, as several figures Apparated in the middle of the battle. They remained still, only showing minute movements from their heads. The first to make her move was a Zeugen witch, Harry could tell as her black veil had fallen off. She simply Disapparated away. The rest of her allies moved to follow, but then the new arrivals leapt into action.

They launched spells at those still frozen with indecision, quickly incapacitating them. They even managed to prevent a few from escaping by hitting them with a jinx just as they vanished, causing them to appear again and crumple to the ground, in one case with a large chuck of their leg missing. It only took a few seconds for all this to happen and Cedric approached one of the Aurors, or Harry presumed they were, with his arms raised in a non-threatening manner. By the time he was shouting, "HARRY, HERMIONE! GET DOWN HERE!" the two were already speeding down the stairs without being slowed down by the cloak.

Soon they were all gathered into small groups with an Auror holding out an inconspicuous object. Harry joined the others and placed the tip of his finger on the tin can. The Auror took out a pocketwatch and glanced at it, "Everyone touching the Portkey? Be ready… in three… two… one..."

* * *

 **A/N**

I mentioned 'die Zeugen Krähenkönig' a few chapters back and they finally make their big debut here. I honestly struggled with the naming a bit, and even now I fluctuate between loving the idea and cringing at it every few days. Ah... 'Death Eaters' has such a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Also toyed around with the idea of giving them those Renaissance bird mask thingies, you know the 'plague doctor masks'? I ended up going with the veils, thinking the masks were a bit over the top.

Well anyway, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll see you next week!

To the guest reviewer: Of course you can be honest! As I've said a few times already, I appreciate all comments positive or (constructively) negative. Or something completely random to boost numbers. Just a suggestion. =)

And yes, I completely understand what you're saying. I guess it didn't really help that in the last chapter Harry didn't really do much at all. I know there are a lot of fics out there that give Harry a special power, a thirst for learning, future knowledge etc., but when I started out the story didn't really want to do that. Not saying that having that kind of Harry is a good or bad thing, but I wanted to keep him as close to the canon Harry as I could.

I quote: "Just listen to me, all right? It sounds great when you say it like that, but all that stuff was luck — I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help –"

You said that 'Harry looks unsure, not powerful or charismatic and dull.' and I'd agree with you to a certain degree, but then again I'd say canon Harry was 'unsure, not powerful or charismatic' in his fourth year as well. As for the dull part, that's probably more to do with the fact that I'm still in the process of learning how to write, a better writer could probably have made it more entertaining to read.

I've tried to keep his development at a similar pace with the books so far, by having him learn new spells in preparation for the Tournament during his third year and by having Sirius/Moody, as well as Riddle himself, teach him this year. I don't really know what else I can say apart from assuring you that he will grow into something more. I can only hope that you stick around until then! =)

Anyway, thanks again for leaving the review, I'm always happy to talk about my writing. =D


	36. Year 4 - Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **Unforgivable**

 _Corinne_

 _Ta mère a eu un accident de voiture. Viens si tu le peux._

Harry turned the letter over to see if he was missing anything but those few words were all that was written on the piece of paper. Not parchment, but paper. Corinne was staring blankly at the envelope that the letter had arrived in. It was simply addressed to ' _Corinne Lansquenet, Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons_ ' and it had a Muggle postage stamp on it, on the back was a return address.

Corinne had received the letter from her Headmistress that morning and had waited until they were on top of the wall before opening it. Harry was staring out towards the Quidditch pitch watching several wizards and witches doing what looked like gardening, when Corinne let out a strange noise from the back of her throat. When Harry asked if something was wrong, she merely thrust the letter into his hands.

"Erm… sorry. I know you've been trying to teach me, but I still can't read French..." Harry said, feeling slightly embarrassed. He glanced down at the two sentences again. "Something about… an accident?"

"My mother… has been in a car accident..." Corinne said quietly.

"A car accident?" Harry repeated, looking shocked.

She looked at him with a dazed expression, "Yes… oh… A car is a Muggle inventi-"

"I know what a car is." Harry said hurriedly. "Is she okay?"

"Oh, right… of course." she took the letter back and read through it again. "I don't know, it doesn't say. I just says she's been in an accident and that I should come back if I can..."

"Shouldn't you get going then?" Harry reached for her hand and held it.

"She's probably fine. If it was serious, I think her husband would have mentioned it..." she pulled away from Harry and looked out towards the Quidditch pitch. Harry knew Corinne never had a good relationship with her mother, in some ways it sounded very similar to Harry's own relationship with his aunt. If his uncle had sent him a letter saying Aunt Petunia was in the hospital, not that he ever would, he probably wouldn't give much thought about visiting either.

But she looked conflicted. Her brows were knitted and her lips were showing tiny signs of movement, as if she was whispering to herself. Harry walked to her side and asked quietly, "Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine." she stared at him for a minute, "You think I should go to her..."

"What? No… I mean..." Harry scratched his head. "I don't know. It's really up to you..."

"I suppose it might raise awkward questions if anyone finds out I refused to visit my mother when she was hurt..." Corinne mused quietly.

Harry hadn't even considered that. "How would anyone find out? You and I are the only ones that know, right? And I definitely wouldn't tell anyone."

"Harry." she laughed. "If there is one thing I have learnt this year, it's that secrets have a habit of coming to light."

"I guess you're right..." she probably wasn't thinking of the same thing as Harry, but he couldn't deny the truth in that statement. "So… I guess you're going to go then?"

She stretched her arms in the air then she used her wand to open the trap door. Harry wordlessly followed her down the ladder and stairs, and back onto the school grounds. When they reached the point where they would have to part for Harry to return to the Hogwarts Express, Corinne stopped him. "Not yet. Follow me."

She told him to wait near the Beauxbatons carriages and made her way inside. Fleur Delacour eyed him warily as he leaned against the stables housing the winged horse she would need for the third task. She didn't say anything as she entered holding a bucket of something. He waited a long time, watching students come and go. A few people greeted him, each giving him that knowing look, as they asked him if they should call for Corinne. He told them he was expecting her shortly and sent them on their way.

Harry stared at the firmly shut door for another twenty minutes, when it finally opened again. Harry straightened his back, but let out a little sigh when he saw that it wasn't Corinne. He was leaning his head back and staring at the sky, when a hissed whisper of his name came out of nowhere right into his ear. "Bloody h-!"

"Shhh…"

"What is it?" the doors to the stables slammed open and Delacour stepped out, wielding her wand. She looked around and narrowed her eyes at Harry."

"Er… nothing… just a fly." Harry mumbled as he waved his hand in the air as if warding off the offending insect.

She arched her eyebrow and said stiffly, "There are severe penalties for attempted _sabotage_ on another Champion…"

"Honestly, I wasn't!" Harry's face was heating up. "I'll..I'll just be going now..."

She sniffed disdainfully and wandered back to tend to her horse. Harry stood there as the sound of chuckling broke out next to him, "That one deserves a good kick on her derrière."

"Corinne!" Harry felt flustered, "You scared me! Why are you wearing the cloak?"

"Sorry, I didn't want to be seen leaving. That's why it took so long, I had to wait for someone to leave before I could follow them out." an invisible hand dropped onto Harry's shoulders and gently pushed him into walking.

"Why, what's going on? I though you were going home?" Harry whispered as he walked by a group of students, probably first years seeing how small they were. They were gawking at him and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to be seen talking to himself.

"I showed Madame Maxime the letter and she thinks I'm taking the Portkey, the one we were given during Christmas. But as I've already told you, I don't think it'll be a good idea, in case someone other than my mother is at the house. I doubt the Ministry will care about me enough to check if the Portkey's been activated, I just hid it in my desk." they looked to be heading back towards the concealed door in the wall.

"How are you getting home then? Are you flying?" Harry remembered landing on the wall and having a rather awkward conversation with Corinne after a game of Quidditch.

The hand on Harry's back shook as she stifled a laugh, "Oh dear, no. Even if I was a decent flyer, going from here all the way to France would be… No, I'll be Apparating."

"Apparating?" Harry frowned, "I though you needed a license for that."

"You do… But..." Harry thought Corinne must have shrugged. "I know I can do it. I'll have to split my journey into several parts, can't Apparate there all at once. And once I reach Germany, I might see if I can find a train to take me the rest of the way."

Harry stopped suddenly and Corinne bumped into him, "Is it safe? I heard Apparition can be dangerous. And how will you even get back here? And how are you even going to Disapparate out? The whole school is-"

"Harry. I've already thought of everything, don't worry. I just need your help a bit." she paused for a moment, "If you're willing, that is..."

Corinne hushed him and pushed him through the door and into the dark room. But instead of going up the stairs like they normally do, she took off her cloak and wandered into a shadowy corner. She moved her hands against the walls as if looking for something, "Corinne, what are you looking for?"

"Wait, it's somewhere… here!" she pressed her hands into the wall and it gave way with a click. "Look, remember this spot. It's a secret passageway I found leading out of the school. You'll need to press it on this side to let me back in."

Harry stared at the spot Corinne was touching and memorised it, "But… how am I going to know when to do it?"

"I'll get you a message, an owl if I can manage or maybe even Muggle post. There doesn't seem to be a problem getting them delivered here." Corinne shrugged.

"I don't know… It just seems a lot simpler to take the Portkey." Harry shook his head. "You even have the cloak, they probably wouldn't even see you."

She stared at him for an uncomfortably long time then sighed. "Harry... I'll be honest. I want to get away from all this… magic for a while. After the attack at the broom race..."

"Oh. Right..." the wizarding world was in an uproar after the incident. It was the biggest move by Grindelwald's fanatics since his downfall. The newspapers speculated that is was probably due the European Ministry's harder stance against the Zeugen, ever since Harry started the Auror internship. The population was split between those who thought they weren't doing enough and those who praised the initiative they took, seeing an attack like this as inevitable.

The latest count showed thirty three people had died and several hundreds injured. Thankfully none of the students or Professors suffered anything serious, even Karkaroff, who had been one of the first to be knocked out from the explosion near the ship. Krum probably suffered the most serious injuries. When the Aurors got to him, he was in a fierce duel with two of the Zeugen and was taken to a hospital afterwards. As for the others, their wounds were easily taken of by the Healer stationed at Drumstrang or the professors. Considering the scale of the attack, there was a surprising lack of casualties, but it seemed they weren't out to kill. Most of the spells were loud and flashy, designed to incite fear and panic. A large proportion of the injuries happened during the panicked crowd's mad dash to escape. Even with the students, it seemed like the Zeugen were toying with them, as there was a severe lack of curses that could have easily maimed or killed outright. Nevertheless, after the physical injuries were healed, everyone was still left badly shaken.

"I know I refused when they offered to send us home..." Corinne sighed. "And I don't _want_ to go home. I just want to get on a train, surround myself with Muggles and go a few hours without hearing the words 'King of Crows'."

For each of the students present that day, they were given the choice to return home either for a short time to recuperate or more permanently for the rest of the year. All the Hogwarts students returned home for a week or two, but no one wanted to miss out on seeing the final task of the Tournament or being personally tutored by Professor Riddle. Harry obviously didn't want to return to the Dursleys, so he considered trying to convince the Headmaster to allow him to visit Hogwarts to see his friends, but then he found out Corinne was staying behind and she looked like she could use someone to talk to.

The hardest part was trying to convince Fred and George to let him stay. They were almost hysterical in their efforts to get Harry to come back with them to the Burrow. In the end, even as they clutched a letter from the Headmaster addressed to Mrs. Weasley, they looked like they were about to face an executioner as the Portkey whipped them away.

What Harry got instead was arguably better, when Sirius and Remus came to Durmstrang to stay a few days aboard the Hogwarts Express. There was no pretence for the reason they were there, they were simply there for Harry. They helped Harry deal with what he experienced on that traumatic day.

For the most part, Harry didn't feel that bad, perhaps due to what he had already been through during his earlier years at Hogwarts as well as the Auror training, but there was one thing that he did feel terrible about. Of the four people crushed under the roof he and Hermione had levitated and dropped, one of them had succumbed to their injuries and died in hospital. He managed to drag it out of Sirius and Remus, although they were very reluctant to do so. Even after repeatedly being told that he did nothing wrong, that hesitation might have cost him his own life or one of the other students, he still felt a terrible stain upon his soul. His mind immediately raced back towards the overheard prophecy, wondering if this was a sign for things to come. One thing he promised himself was that he would never tell Hermione and he asked Sirius and Remus to lie to her as well, if she ever asked them.

"If you're sure..." Harry said, shaking himself from his thoughts.

"Yes, I am." then Corinne leaned over and kissed him lightly. She smiled against his lips, "I'm sure."

"Ok..okay..." Harry said throatily as she broke the kiss. "How long do you think you'll be?"

"I told Madame Maxime I'll be back in a few days. I don't expect to stay too long." she started stroking the invisibility cloak she was holding and she pursed her lips. "Harry, will you still be doing those… Auror training things?"

An owl from Engrácia arrived a few hours after the incident at the races. She told him that the next mission, that had originally been scheduled for the weekend, was cancelled. She also mentioned that they were planning something else, but she did not wish to divulge the details through a letter and simply told him to be prepared to leave at a moment's notice. Harry gave a confident nod, "I am. I'm glad I agreed to it, I think going on those missions really came in handy during the attack."

She nodded absently. After taking a deep breath she pushed the cloak out towards him. "Keep it… At least, until I come back."

"I..I can't! It's yours!" Harry shook his head took a step back.

Corinne gave him a half smile, "I think you'll find a much better use for it, especially if you insist on carrying on with this Auror thing. Also, have this as well..."

Harry noticed that underneath her cloak she was wearing Muggle clothing, a simple blouse and jeans. She opened a little bag she had over her shoulders and took something out. Harry took both the cloak and the object into his hands, "A box?"

"Stick it inside your trunk and it will create a little secret compartment where you can store the cloak. It isn't a great idea to advertise the fact you have an invisibility cloak to everyone, so keep it hidden and use it only when you absolutely need to." Corinne stared into his eyes until he nodded.

"Will you be okay without it?" Harry asked worriedly. "It might be easier to Apparate if you have the cloak. You know, avoiding Muggles and stuff?"

She gave a short laugh and produced her wand. She tapped the top of her own head and she slowly started to vanish before his eyes. Her invisible lips met with Harry's once more and she whispered, "Au revoir, Harry Potter."

Harry stood rooted at that spot, listening to her footsteps fade.

* * *

Harry felt a light on his eyelids and let out a groan as he turned his head into the pillow. He still felt groggy and tired, like he'd barely been asleep for more than a few hours. There was no way it was morning already. He twisted his head and cracked open his eyes a sliver. In an instant all thoughts of sleep vanished from his mind.

He kicked out and tried to fling the sheets, and what was on top of it, off of himself. Unfortunately the silvery-white, slightly shimmering snake stayed hovering in the air, passing through the sheets like a ghost. Only when he was up against the headboard, using his pillow as a shield, did he finally realise that the snake was actually speaking to him.

"-are awake, can you please come downstairs? I repeat. Harry, if you are awake, could you please make your way downstairs?" Professor Riddle's voice echoed quietly in the room and Harry heard Cedric let out a sleepy snort.

The message repeated itself three more times while Harry crawled out of his bed and hurriedly changed out of his pyjamas. Even though the sudden awakening had him feeling alert, he couldn't stifle a yawn as he reached for his wand. He crept out of the room, not wanting to wake his roommate, and onto the corridor outside. He made his way down the stairs, almost stumbling down the last step and reached the common room, where Professor Riddle was waiting for him. Sirius Black was also there.

"Good evening Harry! Er… or rather, I guess it's good night." Sirius said cheerfully. However, the smile he gave was slightly weaker than usual and Harry finally noticed that the Headmaster was giving the Auror a wary look.

"Sirius, you're back? What's going on?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling alarmed.

"Senhora Engrácia has requested you." Professor Riddle explained. "You may refuse if you're not feeling up to it, but you must decide now."

Harry turned to Sirius with a questioning look. The Auror gave him a sheepish grin, "It's sort of the big one and it's happening right now, there's no real time to explain. It might also be a little more… hands off for you."

"Okay… just…" Harry let out a groan as he rubbed his eyes. He tried to clear his head and take in what was being said. "Is there anything I should know?"

"As I've said, you probably won't be doing much and I doubt there will be any time to teach you anything either." Sirius said. "Honestly, I think they just want to get a few photos of you so they can tell everyone you were there when it went down."

"...But it'll be big and interesting?" Harry finally caught the excited look that the Auror was trying to keep in check.

Sirius shrugged, giving him a wry grin. "Whether you come or not, it'll be front page headlines tomorrow."

Harry slapped his own cheeks several times, "Okay, right. I'm ready to leave."

"Very well. Dibbler, the tea." the house elf popped in front of Harry, holding a tray with a single tea cup. The Headmaster gestured at Harry to take it, "It's a weak tea with a little bit of Invigoration Draught and Wideye potion mixed in."

Harry took a careful sip, before downing the lukewarm drink in one go. He gave a violent shudder at the sensation of a particularly strong mouthwash being poured down his nose. He felt completely awake and slightly jittery, Sirius chuckled, "That should keep you going for a few hours. Ready to leave?"

"Yeah." Harry answered and touched the Portkey that Sirius pulled out of his robes. He was prepared for the jerking sensation this time and managed to not completely collapse onto the floor, which was a good thing, since there were several people waiting on the other side. They were standing between rows of huge shelves reaching the ceiling completely filled with stacks of boxes. A small amount of light streamed into the warehouse from the high windows and a few people were reading scrolls of parchment by their wandlight, but most of them were simply standing in the dark.

"You're finally here, Potter. Black." Moody said gruffly. Harry was slightly taken aback, he didn't think he'd ever seen the man look that excited.

Sirius exchanged a few nods and greetings with the other wizards and witches before turning to Moody. "Have we missed anything?"

"No. Still waiting for the boss to arrive. The others scouting the area haven't returned either." Moody huffed impatiently. He pointed to the corner of the large and dimly lit room they were currently standing in, "Potter, you remember Tonks? She'll bring you up to speed on what's going on."

Tonks was sitting on an uncomfortable looking metallic chair, nodding off slightly. She didn't notice them standing in front of her until Sirius loudly cleared his throat. She shot up and somehow managed to trip over the chair she had just been sitting on and fell into Sirius, "Wh..wha? I'm awake, Moody, I'm awake. Just-"

She covered her yawn but started coughing and sputtering when she saw Sirius' grinning face. "Hello, Nymphadora."

"Do..don't call me that!" she huffed at Sirius and gave Harry a friendly nod, "When did you two get here?"

"Just now." Harry said, "Do you two know each other?"

"We know each other very well..." Sirius wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"What? Oh!" Harry went slightly red, "Are you two…?"

Tonks made a face, "Eww! No! Absolutely not! Don't even suggest things like that Sirius!"

Sirius laughed, "What was I suggesting? I do know you well… especially after a certain traumatic experience of having to change the diapers on a screaming two year old…"

"Oh, Merlin… I'm not listening. I am _not_ listening." Tonks looked mortified and her hair slowly turned scarlet.

"What your mother was thinking, leaving me in charge that day… Tonks' mother is my cousin." Sirius explained to the bemused looking Harry. His expression sobered slightly, "Tonks and her mum and dad are the only members of my family I actually like."

Tonks sighed, "Mum keeps telling me to ask you over for tea. I keep telling her we work for different Ministries, but she doesn't listen… Anyway, the mission."

"Right. So, during the big attack a few weeks back, the Aurors managed to capture a few of the Zeugen and they've been pumping them for information until now." Sirius said.

"You've tracked the rest to here?" Harry said, looking around.

"We've tracked them to several places, actually." Tonks said enthusiastically, clearly happy to leave behind the conversation they'd just been having. "We kept watch but haven't made a move yet. In a few minutes, there's going to be about a dozen simultaneous raids all around Europe."

A series of echoing knocks silenced the room instantly. The heavy metal doors at the end of the room slowly slid open and several dark robed figures walked inside, making Harry tense slightly. Sirius gave his shoulder a squeeze and said quietly, "That's probably the Aurors that were scouting ahead. Stay here Harry, Tonks and I will find out what's going on..."

Harry kept his annoyance to himself and nodded. He stood there for a while, but he started to feel slightly silly and out of place amongst the highly trained adults. He wandered to the nearest stack of boxes and produced a light faint enough, so that he was just about able to read the labels. There were lots of numbers, letters and several bar codes identifying the shipment. It seemed it had arrived from England and was on it's way to Germany via… "Rotterdam?"

"That's right Potter. Now smile for the camera." Harry whirled around just to have a flash go off near his face, blinding him momentarily.

"Alastor. Will you take one properly?" an accented voice said crisply.

Moody let out a grunt, but snapped a few more pictures. "That'll do."

Someone let out a long suffering sigh and Harry's vision finally cleared enough to identify the person standing in front of him. Engrácia offered him her hand, "Hello again, Mr. Potter. I apologise for dragging you out here at this hour, but you understand our need for the cover of the night."

"To catch them unawares?" Harry shook her hand.

"Yes, but also because there are less Muggles about at night. We are currently in a very Muggle part of the city." Engrácia explained. "I am told you are aware of what we are here for? Good. Now as you know this a delicate and potentially dangerous operation, so you will not be on the front lines. Two squads of Hit Wizards will go in first, followed by the Aurors. You will be standing back and will not be engage in combat unless you are forced to do so, is that clear?"

"Okay..." Harry said nervously.

"Now, Auror Black and Tonks will be escorting you. Make sure you listen to every word they said and follow their orders to the letter." she said sternly. A low whistle came from her robes and she took out a scroll of parchment. She unrolled it slightly then took out a pocketwatch and stared at each in turn. Engrácia turned and shouted to the room, "Alright, all other teams are ready. Get into position, the operation starts in ten minutes."

She didn't give Harry a second glance and briskly moved towards the door. He followed her and caught up with Sirius and Tonks, who placed him firmly in between them. Outside, Harry caught a slight hint of the ocean in the air and in the distance he saw the blinking lights of a Muggle city. They walked under the moonlight in complete silence, only their footsteps were making the barest amount of noise. They passed several large, nondescript buildings, until they reached one that looked almost identical to the one they had just left. Engrácia silently motioned with her wand and two groups broke apart, heading left and right. Other than Harry and his escorts, it was just Engrácia and two Aurors remaining. She fished out her pocketwatch again and stared at it. She suddenly raised her hand. Five fingers. Four. Three. Two. One.

Two explosions shattered the peace of the night and the terrible sound of fighting filled the air. It was so loud, Harry wondered if the Muggle police would come to investigate. It stretched out for a long time until there was another explosion, this time much closer to them. It had formed a hole in the side of the warehouse they were watching and people starting running out.

"Why in Merlin's name are there Muggles here?" Tonks gasped. From the dim moonlight above them, Harry could make out the Muggle clothing and proper ones too, not like a wizard's idea of Muggle attire, something which he and Hermione had laughed about months ago when she told him what she had seen during the Quidditch World Cup.

Engrácia let out a stream of words in her native Portuguese, swearing most likely if Harry had to guess. "Incapacitate them. We'll modify their memories and deal with them later."

The two Aurors standing behind her moved forwards and the Muggles stopped to stare at them. The two wizards made soothing gestures and one of them was speaking in Dutch to try and explain that they meant no harm. There was a quick movement from one of the Muggles and a green flash soared through the air, hitting the Auror in the chest and he crumpled to the floor.

In that moment of shock the 'Muggles' split away, trying to escape. At least, all but five of them, who produced a wand and charged at them. Sirius shouted at Tonks to stay behind and guard Harry before rushing to meet them. Engrácia, hesitated only a moment, before joining him.

Even against five opponents the two Aurors, and by the looks of her fierce duelling a former Auror, held their own. But there was something different about the ones here dressed in Muggle clothing, compared to those attacking the spectators at the Broom Race. The ones Harry had fought off were a rabble of raucous but uncoordinated thugs, unskilled enough that even students had a chance to take them down. The ones they were facing now seemed highly trained and Sirius, who was currently duelling two of them at the same time, had a look of great concentration that Harry had never seen on the man during any of their 'missions'.

The other Auror, who's name Harry never found out, screamed as he fell onto one knee. It stopped just as quickly, from a curse aimed at the back of his head. The two that had been duelling him were away and joining the fight against Sirius and Engrácia even before the body had collapsed onto the ground. Harry turned to Tonks, who was making a strangled noise from the back of her throat, "We need to help them!"

Harry darted forwards and he heard Tonks swearing behind him, but she didn't try and stop him. Harry ran towards the closest of the three people surrounding Sirius, launching a Stunning Charm on the way. It missed the witch's head by inches and as she whirled around, Harry aimed another curse her way, " _Conjuncto exarsum!_ "

The angry red curse hit the witch in the eyes and she screamed in pain, blindly sending curses in his direction, including a green one that passed by a foot from his head. One of the wizards duelling Sirius looked in his direction and Harry saw his eyes widen in recognition. He shouted something at the screaming witch but she was in too much pain to register anything he was saying. He slashed the air with his wand and the witch gave a horrible shriek while she clutched the bleeding stump that her hand was once attached to. With another muttered incantation she was covered in black flames, then he threw her at Sirius, before making his escape.

Sirius grimaced as he sent jets of water onto her in an attempt to quell the fire, but to little effect and she stopped twitching and screaming long before the flames were gone. Harry and Sirius quickly turned away from the nauseating smell of burning flesh and stepped around two unconscious, or dead, wizards to reach Engrácia, who was healing a nasty looking cut on Tonks' arm. The look of absolute fury receded slightly as she saw Harry, "Mr. Potter, are you injured?"

"I'm fine..." Harry answered breathlessly.

"It was strange. The wizard I was duelling killed one of their own, after Harry- Brilliant aim on that Conjunctivitis Curse by the way- after Harry blinded her." Sirius explained to Engrácia. "It was almost as if they were trying to make sure he wasn't hurt..."

The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the European Ministry frowned, unconsciously rubbing the scar around her throat. She gave Harry an unidentifiable look, "Did they say anything?"

"Something in German, I think. I couldn't understand it, mine's a bit rusty. "Sirius answered.

Engrácia didn't say anything else and they hurried over to the two fallen Aurors, only to find that they were both already dead. They tensed as a witch ran towards them, but lowered their wands when Engrácia identified her as one of the Hit Witches. They spoke quietly then the witch hurried back into the warehouse. "Okay, we have the main area secure. They're starting to search the rest of the building. Mr. Potter, would you like to return to Durmstrang?"

"Um… I wouldn't mind staying..." Harry offered.

Sirius clapped him on his back, "He can hold his own. And I'll make sure to watch his back."

"Very well. Let's head inside." they followed her through the gaping hole in the side of the building. There were more people dressed in Muggle clothing, tightly bound and unconscious. There were a few Aurors or Hit Wizards (or Witches) standing watch over them, while a wizard and a witch were looking after the injured. Unlike the warehouse they had just left, this one was empty of containers. Instead, it was full of tables, chairs and surprisingly a few beds and various knick-knacks, showing signs that it was a place that people had used to live in rather than store goods.

A grim faced wizard hurried over to them, brushing away a trickle of blood from his cheek. He gave Harry an uneasy look before speaking, "Senhora Engrácia, we found something in the next room…"

They followed him through a small door on the other side of the warehouse. Harry noticed a heavy looking padlock on the floor, and thought that whatever was inside must be valuable. It was a smaller side room, about a third of the size of the main warehouse floor, most likely to have been originally used as office space or something like that. The solitary fluorescent light hanging in the middle of the room revealed a much cleaner room compared to the other one. The only objects in this room were three huge wooden crates, similar in size to Harry's own bed, that lined the walls.

There were several Aurors surrounding the closest of the crates, all aiming their wands at it, while Moody stood by the narrow side of the crate and flicked his wand at another heavy padlock. It gave a dull clatter as it dropped to the floor. Then he stepped back and waved his wand slowly and levitated the side of the crate onto the ground quietly. The sour smell hit them all at the same time, sweat and blood. As Moody carefully stepped forwards with his wand lighted, an inhuman sound suddenly screeched out from the crate. Harry couldn't see what was inside from where he was standing, but he caught the look on the Auror's face. Grim determination, followed by confusion, then Moody suddenly paled in horror.

Every single wizard and witch, as one, took a half step forwards, ready to blast whatever came out into smithereens, but Moody quickly waved them down, "Lower your wands. Bloody- And get the damned mediwizard here now!"

As he ducked his head to tentatively step inside, the sound grew louder, shrieking mixed with intermittent sobs. They couldn't hear anything over the noise, until Moody shouted, "No! Stop that! Damn it- _Stupefy!_ "

They all flinched when he sprinted out carrying something small and dirty. It's slightly misshapen face was caked in grime and there was blood on it's head. It seemed to be wearing some sort of raggedy robes and Harry suddenly thought of house elves. Not the ones on the Hogwarts Express, but ones in the appalling stories Hermione had heard where they were severely mistreated. He then immediately dismissed the idea, whatever it was, it was far too big to be a house elf. A goblin maybe?

The witch that had been tending to the wounded in the other room ran forwards with a harried look on her face. She uttered a harsh word from her throat and glared at the Auror, "What have you done Moody?"

"Just a Stunner." he grimaced and pointed at the freshly bleeding wound, "Tried to stop that from happening..."

The witch tutted then began to work her magic, softly speaking a soothing spell as she waved her wand over the wretched creature. Harry glanced at Sirius, who was looking pale and horrified, and whispered, "Sirius, what is it?"

"What?" the Auror looked confused at Harry's question. "What do you… Harry, that's a kid. A human child..."

Harry's eyes widened as he stared intently at the figure on the floor, at the barely rising and falling movements of the chest. Then he finally saw it, underneath all the bruising and the dirt. He couldn't tell it it was a boy or a girl, not from the malnourished form or the hair that looked like it had been crudely shaved with a knife. The slight form couldn't have been more than ten years old, around the height Harry had been the year he first came to Hogwarts, but much skinnier.

"What in Merlin's name were they doing here..." Tonks asked in a shaky whisper.

"I think that's something we'd all like to know." Moody's voice quivered with anger.

Engrácia seemed to stir from her thoughts and quickly began barking orders around the room. "Quickly! Check the other two crates! Riva?"

The witch kneeling on the floor lowered her wand for a moment, "It's bad. She's stable for the moment, but I want to get her to a hospital as soon as possible. I'd prefer to have her flown."

"Alastor, make arrangements for emergency transport." Moody nodded and hurried out of the room. Engrácia turned towards the exit as well, her lips thin with barely contained rage. Sirius gave Harry a questioning look and he nodded in reply, he wanted to follow her. Tonks also stuck with them and they entered the main warehouse just as Engrácia was ordering the other Healer into the room they just left. She rounded on an Auror who was checking something on one of the unconscious Zeugen and asked tersely, "Have you found anything?"

The Auror moved around the side so that they could see the limp man's face. He then used his fingers to lift both the unconscious man's eyelids. The eyes had a slightly glassy look and Harry noticed that the corner of his lips were slightly raised in what looked like a dazed smile, "Imperiused. And a Muggle. Most of the one's we've captured seem to be Muggles."

"What's Imperiused?" Harry asked in a whisper, while also trying to listen to what the Auror was saying.

"It means he's under the Imperius Curse, he's completely under the control of whoever cast the spell." Sirius said darkly, "One of the three Unforgivable Curses."

Before Sirius could say anything further, two Aurors lifted up a pale faced woman and the man that had been speaking to Engrácia woke her with a tap of his wand. Her eyes shot open and it seemed to take her a minute to realise the situation she was in, then she let out a stream of foul language while she tried to struggle against the ropes and the arms that gripped her. Like he had done before, the Auror leaned forwards and forced her left eyelid wide open. Then he aimed his wand directly at her iris and quietly began to mutter a spell. Thin strings of light erupted from the tip of his wand and into her eye, and the witch began to scream. She tried to shake her head but was held in place by one of the Aurors gripping her by the back of her hair.

The Auror frowned and as he lowered his wand and broke the connection. He turned to Engrácia and gave a brief shake of his head before speaking to the witch, who had gone limp in the Aurors' grip. "Who leads here? Which one of you is Wahrzeugen?"

"I have nothing to say..." she gave a shaky laugh that turned into a pained whimper. But she raised her head slightly to glance around the room. She glossed over most of the prone figures, but her eyes widened slightly at one point and she purposefully lowered her head again.

"Not the smartest one, is she?" Sirius snorted as he glanced in the direction she looked at, then he spoke to the questioning Auror, "Mattias, I think she looked over there, at that man in the corner..."

As they started walking, Tonks whispered quietly at Sirius, "Are you sure Harry should see this?"

Sirius gave Harry a considering look. "Maybe you're right..."

"He needs to see it." Moody said bluntly as he limped towards them. "Engrácia, they're on their way. I've also heard back from the other teams. The raids were successful, we managed to capture quite a few of them."

"Anything of interest to report?" she asked.

"Nothing like that." Moody jerked his thumb towards the back room. He them turned to stare at Harry. "But you Potter should stay. He needs to be able to stare them in the eyes, see what kind of evil we're up against."

They all turned to Harry as if expecting him to decide. He cleared his throat nervously and nodded. Engrácia looked uncertain but she eventually consented, "Alright. But be warned, Mr. Potter, it won't be pleasant to watch."

"Get him up." when they reached the corner of the room, Mattias the Auror ordered once more and his two subordinates raised a rather plain looking man, with a small brown beard. " _Rennervate!_ "

The man blinked owlishly before his eyes widened, "Doe me alsjeblieft geen pijn! Jezus Christus! Alsjeblieft!"

The Aurors holding him exchanged an uneasy glance. Even Harry had noticed the mention of 'Jezus Christus', something that was undoubtedly Muggle.

"Dreuzel? Ik denk het niet..." Mattias snorted. He took out another wand from his pocket and tapped it against his chin. "Do we know of any Muggles that carry wands and fight back against Aurors?"

"No." Engrácia said in a cool voice as she fingered the lines on her neck. "Mattias, use the spell."

He gave a firm nod, then he raised his wand at the man's eye. He struggled for a moment, begging in that desperate tone before his face slackened and a little smirk formed on his mouth.

The little tendrils of light connected the wand and the eye and his face twisted into a grimace of pain. Unlike the witch, however, he clenched his teeth and didn't cry out. A shadow passed over his eye, as if a light inside his head was flickering on and off, until it went completely dark, forming what looked like a smooth ebony glaze over the surface. The sweat beading on his brows mixed with the dark ichor that started to emerge from the corners of his eye, and dripped down his cheek.

With a visible effort, he unclenched his jaw and spat at them, "You cannot stop the Krähenkönig. He _will_ return and he will raise wizardkind above all else. You cannot stop us, with your ministries of squabbling politicians. Nor you, Harry Potter, the child _saviour_ of the wizarding world..."

Harry flinched as the one remaining good eye fixed upon the boy's face. Sirius moved slightly in front of Harry, as if to protect him, "I think we did a good job of stopping your plans here today. You and the rest of his followers will be hunted and put down. One. By. One."

The man let out a hysteric laugh until he snapped his mouth shut with an audible crack of his teeth. There was a sound of an eggshell breaking and the black eye started to bulge wildly. His head started to shake, as if wracked with convulsive pain and red mixed with the black as more liquid dripped out of his eye. Mattias the Auror gave a sharp tug with his wand and pulled something out as the man let out a piercing scream.

The black thing splattered on the dusty ground and gave tiny jerky movements. Harry recoiled in disgust, it looked like a featherless hatchling of a bird staring up at them with it's beady little eyes. A heavy clawed prosthetic leg, belonging to Moody, stomped on it, splattering their feet in the black ink-like substance. The Zeugen had gone slack against the Aurors, with one eye closed and the other a gaping bloody hole. He let out a hoarse giggle, "The Crowking sees all… He has witnessed your defiance and when he returns... you will all… die..."

"That, Mr. Potter, is Grindelwald's _gift_ to his most loyal followers." Engrácia said, her words laced with revulsion. "It was one of the reasons he was most successful in his campaign against Europe. We never discovered the actual spell, but he had an ability to share the vision of some of his followers. He could conduct his war across the whole continent without leaving his own little base. Now… it's merely a tool we can use to root out his most depraved followers."

The Aurors let the man drop to the floor, none too gently, and he curled up into a whimpering ball. They moved slightly away from him and towards a group that was leaving the room with the captives. A burly Auror was cradling the girl in his arms and hurriedly moved towards the exit only giving them a brief nod as he passed. The mediwitch was jogging besides him, making sure her patient was being carried properly. She saw their group and after giving one last sharp order to the Auror, headed towards their little group.

"I see you've been busy." she scrunched her face in distaste at the quivering man and the black mess. "We found two more children in the other containers, two boys and much younger. By the looks of it, they haven't been held captive as long as the other one, but they'll still need to be examined at the hospital. They're being brought out now..."

Two more Aurors entered the room carrying the two unconscious boys. As they passed there was a startled gasp from behind Harry. "Wait."

One of the Aurors that had held the Zeugen while the spell was being cast, came forwards and craned his neck over one of the boys. The Healer let out a noise of impatience, "What is it?"

The Auror paled. "I..I know this boy..."

"What do you mean?" Engrácia asked sharply.

"It was… the last case I worked on at Magical Law Enforcement Patrol before I transferred to the Auror division. A kidnapping, this was almost two years ago..." the man said hoarsely.

"This boy isn't a Muggle?" Engrácia asked and the Auror answered negatively. "What about the others?"

The Healer shook her head. "We'll know once we get them to the hospital."

"Blind little Aurors… running around…" the Zeugen on the ground said in a mocking, sing-song whisper, "Make sure to tell mama and papa how _well_ we've looked after their little boy… how we-"

" _CRUCIO!_ " the man convulsed on the ground, screaming louder than Harry thought would be possible in his condition. Sirius, Tonks and Mattias all launched themselves at the Auror who had cast the spell and grappled the wand from his hand.

"STOP! What do you think you're doing!" Engrácia seethed as she rounded on the Auror.

He didn't take his eyes off the twitching man on the floor, he jutted his chin out defiantly, "We have permission to use the Unforgivables against the Krähenkönigs Zeugen."

"Who do you think gave that permission!" she hissed in reply. "To take them down, yes, but never, _NEVER_ , to torture!"

"He deserves worse." the Auror spat then he turned and walked away.

Engrácia watched him leave, then she let out a tired sigh, "Mr. Potter, I think it's time for you to return. Auror Black?"

Sirius nodded, "Come on, Harry. Let's go."

"See you Harry! You did really well today! Even after that witch almost-" Tonks was interrupted when Sirius coughed loudly and gave a small but firm shake of his head.

"...the witch almost what?" Engrácia asked slowly.

Sirius quickly gripped Harry by the arm and led him towards the exit. They managed to hear the start of the horrified and furious exclamation from the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, just before the door shut behind them. Sirius was chuckling slightly, but Harry frowned. "Unforgivables?"

"What? Oh right..." Sirius sobered immediately. He scratched his head then said slowly. "So, Imperius is control. And what you saw there-"

"Crucio?" Harry asked innocently.

Sirius winced as Harry said the incantation. "Yeah. The Cruciatus Curse. Simply put, it causes the most excruciating, mind numbing pain imaginable. They're called the Unforgivable Curses because if you use one against another human being, you'll be calling whatever wizarding prison you're sent to your home for the rest of your natural life."

"You said there were three?" Harry asked.

Sirius clearly looked like he'd hoped Harry had forgotten that little detail. They stood in the cool air as dawn slowly began to break. Two people, with a third much smaller body lying in a stretcher between them, took off on broomsticks and when they reached the height of the rooftops, they tapped their own heads with their wands and vanished from view, the child disappearing soon after. After the long stretch of silence, Sirius finally spoke in the barest of whispers, "Avada Kedavra..."

"Sorry?" Harry shivered, without exactly knowing why.

"Avada Kedavra. The Killing Curse." Sirius looked at Harry with sad eyes. "It's the curse that killed James and Lily... It's the curse that almost killed you..."

* * *

 **A/N PLEASE READ!**

WAIT before you send a negative review!

Okay, first of all I know a few of you might be thinking that I've pretty much of glossed over Harry dealing with the attack, but I have written it. Just not here. Okay, so right after I update this story, I'm going to upload a chapter on Phoenix Corrupted Extras, which will be set during this chapter but will be from Remus and Sirius' perspective.

I started writing a bit here, but I ended up not liking it very much and also with the whole 'starting the chapter with a letter thing' I'm doing for the fourth year, I couldn't find a suitable place to put it in. I really enjoyed writing the extra chapter, so I hope you can take the time to go over and read it.

So that's the other thing. This chapter was quite long anyway and then I had to go and do another extra chapter, which I'm uploading at the same time, so I'm out of chapters to post. Again. Sorry... =(

But the fourth year is almost over and I definitely know how I'm planning on ending it, but I'm still not sure if I'll be able to get the next chapter typed and edited before next week. I really want to do it properly, so I'm going to take a week off. Just one week, I promise. But I've sort of given you two chapters, so you can wait a week and read my extra story then if that makes you feel better. =)

Yay, this story has hit 202 followers! And so many people favouriting it as well! A double, no, triple thanks to everyone who left a review!

I'll see all you lovely people in two weeks and I wish you all the best until then!


	37. Year 4 - Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **A Few Letters**

 _Harry_

 _Eight long days ago I said goodbye, forgive me taking so long to write to you. Leaving home is more difficult than I had imagined, my desire to return to the wizarding world has somewhat diminished. Perhaps it is also my mother's accident, her injuries are worse than I had first thought. Madam Maxime already knows this, but I have decided to stay here for a few months to look after my mother. Even as I write this a small part of me wants to return, but I think I need some time for myself as well._

 _Chestnut trees and corn fields. Although I now love the frosty beauty and the colourful night skies over Durmstrang, there is something about this place that feels so right. Not many people around here and certainly no strangers. To be honest, it's the first time since the attack that I'm not worrying about what danger might be lurking in the shadows._

 _Let me say again, that I'm so sorry for breaking my promise to return soon. Every moment we grew closer, I feared that we would have to part. All I could think about when you first kissed me was that it wouldn't work out between us._

 _Vague thoughts about how you and I live in very different worlds. Even though this sounds as if I'm saying goodbye, I hope to see you again before you return to Hogwarts._

 _Believe me when I say I would like to continue our relationship. Really. Of all that has happened this year, meeting you has given me the happiest memories. Keep in touch and if possible use the Muggle post to the address on the envelope, Madam Maxime will know of a way to get the letter into the system. Everybody will find it very strange to see owls coming in and out of my house and my mother doesn't appreciate them._

 _Wishing more than anything else that you, and only you, could be here by my side. All the dangers I fear would be nothing, together with you. Not even the King of Crows himself._

 _Dreaming of you_

 _Corinne Lansquenet_

Madame Maxime's expression turned increasingly more awkward as she read through the letter. "Monsieur Potter. It's a very... touching letter, but I'm quite unsure why you have asked me to read this…"

"Erm… I'm just wondering… if you think she's okay..." Harry felt slightly uncomfortable talking to her and not just because he had to tilt his head back to make eye contact. It was only the second time he had ever spoken to the Beauxbatons Headmistress, the first brief occasion being when she gave Harry the letter in question a few weeks ago.

It had taken a lot to pluck up his nerve to speak to her, she was quite intimidating in a way that had nothing to do with her size, although he couldn't completely deny that it wasn't a part of it. It was mostly because he _really_ didn't want anyone to read what was a very personal letter.

Harry had been nervous with worry when Corinne didn't return or contact him for several days pass the time she said she would return. When he finally tore open the letter seconds after receiving it, he had been extremely confused. If it hadn't been Madam Maxime handing it to him personally, telling him it came with a letter addressed to herself, Harry wouldn't have believed it came from the same girl he had grown close to these past few months. But then again, maybe she was worried it might be read by someone else. After all, she had said time and time again that the things she revealed to Harry throughout the year had been very private.

He finally decided to ask Corinne's Headmistress in hopes that she would also see something strange within the contents of the letter. Madame Maxime gave Harry a sad look, "No, Monsieur Potter, I do not think she's… okay, as you put it..."

"Really?" Harry's eyes widened and he let out a small breath of relief.

She shook her head, "The incident by the Zeugen has shaken the whole wizarding world. When something like this happens, people often need time to recover, not just from physical injuries but emotionally as well. I understand all the Hogwarts students are back at Durmstrang, but there are a few of my students that have decided to return home for a while, just like Corinne has done. Honestly, when she told me she was planning to stay here instead of returning home, I was slightly worried, but now I'm glad she has decided to stay."

"Right..." Harry said, feeling slightly disappointed. "Of course."

Madame Maxime gave him a smile, "I had heard gossip about how you two had grown close, but I did not realise how close. I know you miss her and you worry for her, but you must not rush her. She will return when she is ready."

"I understand." Harry sighed.

* * *

 _Harry_

 _Episkey, learn it, remember it and practice it with the Aurors or your friends. Lucky you've never been in a situation where you had to use a healing charm on yourself. Please be careful, I worry every time I think of you going off with the Aurors._

 _Corinne_

"POTTER!" Moody's voice seemed to echo through the whole school as they arrived in front of the Hogwarts Express. "What the _hell_ were you doing back there!"

Harry winced, at the sound of his voice as well as the sharp pain that shot up his leg as soon as the Portkey dropped them there. He looked around and yes, there were lots of students gaping at himself, Moody and Sirius, who was currently sending his fellow Auror a glare while trying to stop Harry from falling over. "Moody, he gets it. Now will you shut u-"

"This is not a game, POTTER!" Moody shouted over Sirius' words, "A mistake like that could get you, and us, killed!"

"I'm sorry… I just..." Harry looked around at the Durmstrang students watching with interest and lowered his voice, "When her hood fell off, I thought she looked familiar..."

The moment he had lowered his wand, he had immediately realised he was mistaken. The sleek black hair and the light blue eyes might have been slightly similar, but the witch had been decades older than the girl he had been wishing to see for the last few weeks.

Moody turned a livid shade of purple. " _Looked familiar_? She was trying to curse you!"

"I should have taken the invisibility cloak..." Harry muttered to himself.

But not quietly enough and Moody's eyes bulged out, "An invisibility cloak! You expect me to pull one out of my arse every time we're on a mission! We are not here to babysit you Potter! You're here to learn! And hiding yourself under a bloody _invisibility cloak_ every time things get a little dicey will not teach you to fight!"

"Alright, that's enough Moody." Sirius said firmly while sending a sympathetic look towards Harry. "We should get him to see the Healer."

"HARRY! HARRY!"

Harry sent a crooked smile, that quickly turned into a grimace of pain, to the girl who had pushed through the crowd of students. "Hi Hermione."

"Oh my… What happened?" Hermione looked Harry up and down with a terrified look.

"It's fine, really." Harry assured her, but when he looked down at his own leg he couldn't help but cringe. The lower half of his robes had been ripped apart, revealing one of his pale, skinny legs. It was matted with blood and bent at an unnatural angle below his knee. It was actually much better since Sirius had used some basic healing spells on it. When the witch launched the curse at him, he quickly attempted a Shield Charm while trying to dodge the murky yellow flash of light, but it had still grazed his leg. He had almost passed out, not just from the extraordinary amount of pain he was in, but from seeing what he was sure was a part of a broken bone poking out of his skin. "Sirius fixed most of it. I just need to see the Healer for the rest..."

"Ri..right." she stammered. "I'll go get Professor Riddle..."

Sirius sighed with a look of resignation. "Yeah, he'll probably want to know… Tell him we're taking Harry to the hospital wing."

* * *

 _Harry_

 _Each time I remember what happened that day, I can't stop myself from shivering. Light faded as I felt myself losing consciousness and then you were there, the sun shining against your back, my knight in shining armour. Proof that you are doing the right thing in training to be an Auror, do not doubt yourself._

 _Corinne_

"Cedric! This is brilliant!" Katrien whooped in the air, atop the majestic Falhófnir. Cedric waved at her, but he couldn't hide the slightly miffed look from Harry who was sitting nearby. It was most likely directed at the winged horse rather than at the girl he had attended the Yule Ball with.

He sighed then grinned at Harry. "She really likes flying."

"I thought she might." Harry laughed. He was sitting on the grass with his back against the stables. From where he was sitting no one from the train would be able to see him, specifically Hermione Granger. As much as he loved his friend, Hermione became slightly unbearable around this time of the year. If they were back at Hogwarts, she would have been splitting her attention between several of their friends, but not here. It was only Harry being forced into submission by the girl who had probably done more revision for a single year's exams than Harry had done for all three. He shuddered slightly, trying not to think about it. "How's the preparation coming for the final task?"

"It's coming along, I guess." Cedric ran a hand through his hair as he looked back up at the flying horse. "Since they're still keeping the final task quiet, I'm not really sure how I should prepare."

"You don't know what they're doing at the Quidditch pitch?" Harry asked.

"You mean with the tree?" Cedric shrugged. "Whatever it is they're doing, they're doing it quickly. I don't think I've ever seen something grow that fast."

"In the past Tournaments, the third task always had the Champions race to reach the Triwizard Cup." Harry said, remembering notes from Hermione's research as well as what Ron had discovered from his brother Bill, a previous Hogwarts Champion.

Cedric nodded, "Yeah, but I'm still not sure what they have the tree for. Since they made us keep the horses, I've been wondering if they're planning on putting the Cup on top of the tree and make us fly to get there. But that honestly feels too simple. I'm sure they have something else planned on top of that..."

Harry made a slight noise of agreement. He was staring as Katrien and the winged horse made hypnotic circles in the sky. "I've heard you'll need to be able to use a lot of spells if you want to succeed in the third task."

"That's what I've been doing, but there's sort of a limit to what I can do by myself. Well, that's not completely true, the others have been a real help. They keep offering to help me practice duelling and now they've started suggesting books I might want to read. Kat's even offered to spy on Krum as a joke, at least I think she was joking..." Cedric frowned slightly. "But still, I keep thinking how much better it could be if I had two Aurors training me instead..."

Harry turned to Cedric in surprise and he saw a hint of envy on the older boy's face. "Are you planning on trying to get a job as an Auror?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know." Cedric let out a small laugh. "I did go through a phase when I was younger, when I thought being an Auror was the coolest job in the world."

"It is pretty cool." Harry admitted. "But I'm starting to see the… messier side of working in law enforcement."

Kat and Falhófnir landed with a clattering of hooves. She leapt off the horse and gave the animal a fond pat on the head. "Harry! Have you ever been on a winged horse? It's brilliant!"

"Er, no. I was on a hippogriff once though." Harry said.

Katrien's eyes gleamed and she dragged the story of his first Care of Magical Creatures lesson from him. She laughed out loud and turned to Cedric, "Have you been on a hippogriff as well?"

Cedric shook his head, "Hagrid showed us the creature but honestly, I was too scared to go anywhere near it that day."

"Really? Hogwarts Champion and you were scared of a little hippogriff?" Kat teased. Harry watched the comfortable and quiet conversation going on between them. He felt a sudden pang of sadness and longing. He couldn't bear to be there a moment longer.

Harry quickly stood, "Er… sorry. I'll leave you two alone now..."

The two older students took a step apart and blushed slightly. Cedric cleared his throat, "No, no. It's fine. You can stay if you want. You want to have a go?"

He pointed at the horse, who snorted and stamped a hoof on the ground. Harry shook his head, "Thanks but I'm ok-"

"HARRY! YOU SHOULD BE REVISING!"

"-and look, Hermione's looking for me." Harry winced at the shout coming from the train.

* * *

 _Harry_

 _Exams are always difficult, but it's important to try your best. Leaving the Auror training until later is definitely a good idea, Sirius will understand. Pumpkin seeds are a perfect snack for revision, you should ask one of the house elves if they could get you some._

 _Corinne_

"And… step away from the cauldrons please." Professor Riddle said.

Harry frantically stirred anti-clockwise twice and clockwise once before he stepped back. He wiped his sweaty brows with his sleeves and sent Professor Riddle a guilty look. Snape would have made a scathing remark and threatened him with a zero, but the Headmaster just gave him a smiling nod.

Hermione was muttering, forcibly dragging herself away from the cauldron. She walked up to Harry and even though it was just the two of them, talked in a whisper as if the room they had just taken their exams in was some place sacred, "How did you do? After you add the armadillo bile, it has to turn yellow right? Not green? I don't know… mine looked as if there was a hint of-"

"Hermione… I don't want to think about it..." Harry groaned.

"Well now." Professor Riddle said cheerfully as he bottled a ladleful of each of the Wit-Sharpening Potions Harry and Hermione had just brewed. He lifted them up to his eyes and looked at each of them in turn. "I think I should be able to grade you both now, if you'd like."

Hermione squeaked and grabbed onto Harry's hand. Harry shrugged, "I think I can probably guess. Hermione's potion is perfect and mine's barely acceptable?"

"I think you should have more pride in your potion brewing skills Harry, despite what Professor Snape says..." Professor Riddle said with a slight smirk, "Hermione your potion is indeed perfect. As for you Harry, you were doing well until right at the end, you didn't leave it to simmer for long enough before adding the ginger. You can see that you're potion is very slightly thinner than Hermione's..."

He made a show of lifting the ladle and pouring it's contents back into the cauldron, first Harry's, then Hermione's. Harry honestly couldn't tell that much of a difference, but Hermione was nodding fervently. But Harry was still extremely pleased with the results. He'd thought it at the start of the year and he still thought so now, learning Potions was infinitely better without Snape.

"Thank you Professor." Hermione beamed.

"Alright then, off you go and have your lunch. I'll see you downstairs in the afternoon for your Defence Against the Dark Arts exam." Professor Riddle said with a look of anticipation. Harry knew that it was the subject he used to teach before he became Headmaster and he was obviously looking forwards to testing them.

"Oh! Right! I should look over my notes again." Hermione squeaked before rushing out of the room.

Harry looked towards the Headmaster, who was clearing away the mess his two students had made while they were preparing their potions. He hesitated and cleared his throat, "Erm… Professor? Would you like some help?"

Professor Riddle turned to him, looking surprised. Then with a quiet smile, he said, "Sure. That would be nice Harry."

They both knew that it was something that the Professor could sort out in seconds with a swish of his wand, but it had been a while since he and Harry had spoken about anything other than their studies. Harry quickly moved to his worktop and began sorting through the few ingredients he hadn't used and returned them to their jars.

"I'm sorry." Harry blurted out, breaking the slightly awkward silence. "About what I said during the Ball."

Professor Riddle shook his head. "You did not say anything that was untrue. You were indeed placed in danger more times than I would like to count."

"But it was never your fault." a shameful blush crept onto his cheeks. "I.. I made it sound as if I was blaming you for it. I didn't mean that. I know you've always been there to protect us."

He stared at Harry for a moment. He spoke softly, "Thank you Harry, I appreciate you saying that."

"Right..." Harry said. He swept the used ingredients into a pile and the Professor vanished it and the contents of the cauldron.

Having said what he had been wanting to say for a very long time, Harry slowly moved towards the door. Professor Riddle stopped him, his expression conflicted. "Harry, wait."

"Yes, Professor Riddle?" but the Professor remained silent, deep in thought.

"No. Nevermind." the Headmaster shook his head. "I think we have things we need to discuss, but not now. After you've finished your exams, maybe after the final Triwizard task and when things quieten down. But we definitely should talk before you return home for the summer."

Harry nodded and left the room. Yes, maybe after everyone was a little less busy, they should talk things out. About everything.

* * *

 _Harry_

 _Evening is beautiful here. Looking out of my bedroom window as the sun sets, watching the soft lights and feeling the warm air on my skin. Peaceful, it's just simply so peaceful here._

 _Corinne_

Harry stared over the wall towards where the Quidditch pitch used to be. Used to be, since instead of the pitch was a tree. A rather large tree. Staring at it made him feel the size of an ant. A few dozen Hagrids and Madam Maximes linked hand in hand would have been unable to completely circle the base of the tree. It stretched up to the heavens, easily overshadowing the tallest point of Durmstrang Castle by quite a margin and then some. Harry was sure this tree was bigger than some of the Muggle skyscrapers he had seen on his visits to London.

The canopy was a forest, there was no other way to describe it. And with the forest came it's own set of wildlife. At the very highest point of the tree perched a huge eagle, one that Harry had thought must have been a statue of some sort, until it came to life with a beat of it's wings. Underneath and all around the branches were smaller flying creatures that he couldn't make out from the distance, but they looked like an angry swarm of bees. From the 'forest' itself, Harry caught half-glimpses of beasts peeking out of the dense green vegetation. Once he thought he saw a stag, with a blood red coat and gleaming white antlers, that appeared at the edge of the leaves accompanied by the sound of thunder. It was only for a second and vanished just as quick, but it was sufficient for Harry to feel awed and had immediately written a letter to Corinne about it.

While the bottom half of the trunk was smooth, looking as sturdy as iron, the upper parts were riddled with holes. In front of each of these openings were a little platform. The students had speculated that the Champions would have to ride their horses to one of these entrances and then make their way inside on foot. The lower parts would be easy enough to reach, but if they wanted to fly higher and presumably make it easier to reach the Triwizard Cup, they were have to pass the swarming mass of winged creatures, which Harry thought were unlikely to let them pass without a fight.

Harry let out a slight chuckle as he watched two red headed figures, surrounded by several others. Fred and George had attempted to fly out there on borrowed broomsticks to check the place out, despite stern warnings not to approach the tree. They had managed a weak Disillusionment Charm, which they were hoping would mask them as the sun started to set. Unfortunately, a few hundred feet before reaching the tree a loud alarm started blaring out and they immediately came back into view. The Triwizard Committee wizards and witches quickly surrounded them and from what Harry could see, the twins were being scolded quite fiercely. It probably wouldn't be any better once Professor Riddle was told what they had been doing and even that would be nothing compared to what their mother would do, if she ever found out.

"Harry..."

Harry startled and turned towards the weak sound of a girl's voice. He was at first extremely disappointed, almost angry, then his eyes widened in surprise. "Hermione! You're on a broomstick?"

"Yes… hold on..." her voice was trembling as she slowly lowered herself onto the wall next to where Harry was standing. As soon as her feet touched the ground she let out a shaky breath.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, the annoyance he felt creeping up again. This place was his and Corinne's. Hermione was a good friend, but it still felt like she was violating something private.

Hermione flinched slightly at his expression. "I.. I saw you from the ground. I couldn't find how you came up here, so I borrowed a broom from Angelina… I..I was just worried about you… I hope you don't mind?"

Her voice was barely a whisper by the end of the sentence and Harry sighed, feeling a bit too glum to be angry. "It's fine. It's just… for a moment I though… Corinne was back..."

"So, this is where you and she would always meet?" Hermione asked after a pause. Harry nodded wordlessly and turned back to stare at the tree. Hermione turned her eyes to the arboreal miracle in front of them. "This is such a wonderful spot to look at the tree. It's just so… fantastic, isn't it? Irminsul..."

"Sorry?" Harry asked.

"Irminsul. The World Tree. Wodan's Woods-" she caught Harry's expression and stopped. With a slight blush on her face she resumed more calmly, "An extremely rare species of magical tree, it takes several talented Magibotanists to grow successfully. Not many places you can grow it either, if Muggles caught sight of something like that springing up, that would be the Statute of Secrecy broken in a flash. It has several names, but seeing as we're in Scandinavia, I suppose _Yggdrasil_ would be the most appropriate..."

Harry looked at her blankly. "Right..."

"Oh, really… You need to read more books Harry." she huffed and eyed the letter he was holding. "And less of those..."

"What's wrong with keeping in touch with people?" Harry grunted defensively.

"There's nothing wrong… It's just that… you've been obsessing over her the past few months, ever since she went back home. How is she?" Harry shrugged. Hermione waited for more but only received silence. "So then… what do you write to each other about?"

"Just… stuff. Not much..." Harry hesitantly looked down at the letter before showing it to her.

She looked surprised but carefully took the letter in her hand before quickly scanning it. She frowned, "Poetry?"

"Is it? I just thought she was telling me stuff..." Harry said.

Hermione sounded like she had just stifled a snort, "It's very short."

"We write to each other often, so we keep the letters quite short." Harry had asked Madame Maxime and she told him of a place the letters could be sent so it would be placed into the Muggle postal system. They also offered a method of letters and parcels originating from the Muggle post offices to be quickly transferred to a wizarding equivalent. It was a bit expensive, but Harry was more than willing to pay the cost from his own Gringotts vault.

Hermione let out a sigh as she carefully folded the letter and returned it to him. "The letter doesn't say much, how is she?"

"I really don't know. The letters all seem a little vague." Harry said irritably. "I just want to be able to talk to her face to face. It's almost as if she wants to say something, but can't..."

They stood in silence as they watched the tree by the dim red glow of the setting sun.

* * *

 _Harry_

 _Each of the letters you have sent me makes my heart swell with happiness. I hope you found that each of mine did the same. But I must say, of the many that I've sent to you the first letters are the most important. Read it again. I still mean everything I've written. Especially that you are the only person that I would like to see again. Please understand._

 _I love you Harry_

 _Corinne Lansquenet_

Harry frowned. This letter seemed different from the rest Corinne had sent. It almost sounded slightly desperate for some reason. He scrambled off his bed and hurried to his trunk. He opened the hidden compartment from the box Corinne had given him for the invisibility cloak and took out all the letters she had sent. He placed them all on his desk apart from the first one.

" _Eight long days ago-_ " he read through it quickly but didn't understand what she was trying to say. The first letter was the most important? No. He read the latest correspondence from her, she had said the first _letters_ were the most important. Even though she spoke with that wonderful French accent, her English was very good. It seemed very unlike her to make a grammatical mistake like that.

He stared at the letter for another five minutes before realisation dawned on him. His face turned green, similar to what Cedric had looked like this morning, as he woke up to the day of the final Triwizard Tournament task.

There was a banging on the door and Harry jumped. "Harry! Professor Riddle is telling us to gather in the common room!"

"A..a..alright Hermione… I'll be out in a bit..." Harry's voice was shaky. He picked up the letters and placed them safely back into his trunk. He opened the door to find Hermione waiting for him.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked worriedly. "You look really pale..."

Harry's mouth opened and closed several times, but he couldn't think of what to say. Eventually he went with, "Couldn't sleep. Worried about Cedric."

"Yes… If it is anything like the first two tasks, they're bound to be very dangerous..." Hermione said slowly, as if she wasn't entirely convinced by his excuse. "Come on, we should hurry."

Hermione grabbed his hand and led him down the corridor. He followed her automatically, while the message in the letter formed a hurricane in his mind. Before he knew it, they had walked down the stairs to a room of waiting students.

"You're finally here!" Adrian said impatiently. "We have to hurry or we'll be late!"

"No we won't." Philip said calmly, though his face was a little pale. He was a fellow Hufflepuff and out of those gathered here probably Cedric's closest friend.

Angelina stopped the two boys before an argument could break out and led them towards the door. "Professor Riddle had to go to meet Cedric's parents. We're not late, but we should probably get going."

The older students walked in front of them, talking amongst themselves about what the final task would consist of and who they thought had the best chance of winning. Harry didn't join in the conversation, he though he would be sick if he opened his mouth, and Hermione kept shooting worried glances at him. Thankfully she kept quiet and Harry could think.

He wondered if he should go to Professor Riddle or Madame Maxime, that seemed like the best solution, but recalling the letter again, Corinne had been quite firm that she had only wanted to see Harry. Also, it would be extremely embarrassing if what Harry had thought he'd seen was actually a complete coincidence and he was just overreacting. Maybe contact Sirius and ask him to look into it? Corinne had met with the Auror and she had told Harry that she had liked the man. He was also sure Sirius could be trusted to keep things quiet if Harry asked him to. But he was an Auror, and therefore extremely busy. Even more so after he started teaching Harry after Christmas.

Harry mentally let out a stream of curses, wishing that there was some way to contact Corinne, a way that he could actually see and talk to her. Something like the mirror he used to keep in touch with Sirius and Remus. Even if he went back to his room now to write a letter and send it with Hedwig, it wouldn't reach her for at least a few days and if what he was imagining was anything near the truth he didn't want to leave her there for another second.

He had never felt the desire to learn to Apparate, having never liked the sensation of it, but now he wished he could do so more than ever. Flying there on a broomstick would be out of the question, even if he knew the direction to fly, a letter would probably get there faster. Was there any other way? To get to Cori-

Harry froze as they were about halfway across the bridge. Hermione took a few steps before realising, then she stopped as well, "What's wrong?"

It took a moment to answer her. He swallowed nervously, with his heart thundering in his chest. Then he met her eyes with a determined look, "I forgot something."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"My camera. I kept meaning to, but always forgot to bring it to the other tasks. I want to get a picture the Champion when they win." Harry said slowly.

Fred heard this and joked, "Harry, when did you change your last name to Creevey?"

Harry tried to smile but he was sure it came out wooden. "Yeah, that's hilarious Fred."

"I know I am." Fred piped up.

"All right, but we'll have to hurry." Hermione turned, but Harry stopped her.

"No! It's fine, I can run faster without you. Get going." Harry couldn't completely hide his nervousness.

Hermione bit her lips, "Okay… I'll save you a seat then..."

"Hermione, honestly! Don't worry about it. There's plenty of seats, I'll find a place with the Durmstrang or Beauxbatons students if I need to." Harry tried to sound eager. "I might try and get a few good shots of the tree while we're allowed near it. I only managed to get a few photos from far away."

"Harry are you-"

"I'm fine Hermione!" Harry shouted as he started running back towards the train. "Fred! Make sure you escort Hermione properly! I'll blame you if she get eaten by some monstrous creature jumping out of the lake!"

"Right you are Mr. Creevey!" Fred laughed.

Harry glanced back and saw that Hermione had started walking again, although she kept looking back at him over her shoulder. It didn't matter, what was important was that she had started moving.

He was out of breath by the time he reached the Hogwarts Express. He slammed open the door and continued his run.

"Mr. Harry Potter sir!" a squeaked voice shouted in alarm. "What is you-"

"Sorry, no time to explain Dibbler!" Harry huffed as he climbed the stairs. "I need to get something from my room! I have to hurry or I'll be late for the final task!"

He got to his room and went straight for his trunk. He opened the secret compartment and pulled out the shimmering cloak. He pulled it into a tight bundle and hid it underneath his robes. He was about to leave again, when he remembered the camera. It would raise a lot of awkward questions from Hermione if he turned up without it. He quickly moved aside, books, clothes and other heavy bundles and took out the camera that he had been keeping safely at the bottom. He picked up a spare film as well for good measure and stuffed it into his pockets. He hung the camera around his neck, to make sure the house elves would see it when he left the Hogwarts Express.

When he pounded down the stairs, there were indeed two wide eyed house elves staring at him. Before they could say anything, he pre-empted them by shouting, "Thanks Dibbler! Thanks Cauliflower!"

He caught a glimpse of the elves bowing at him with confused looks on their little faces. He ran behind the train, to the stables and leaned against the wall. He took a moment to catch his breath while he looked around to make sure there were no prying eyes on him at that moment. He took out the invisibility cloak and pulled it around himself. When he was satisfied he was completely covered, he broke into another run, this time towards the Beauxbatons carriage.

As he climbed the steps, he began sending silent wishes for the door to be unlocked. And it thankfully was. He opened it just enough for him to pass through, then closed it firmly behind him. Harry paused to make sure there was no one about. He was back in the golden hall, with the beautiful paintings and murals and the ornate staircase right at the back. Harry thought for a moment then he crouched down to take off his shoes, he remembered Corinne telling him to be quiet. He might have been able to mask his footsteps with her walking besides him, but on his own, he would definitely be heard. He picked them up and moved forwards.

He still took careful steps, slowing down even further as he reached the two golden statues. They stood stock still without moving, which was probably a good thing, because if they moved it would mean tha-

Harry froze mid step as two heads spun to face him. The serene expressions had vanished and were replaced by a daemonic fury, with sharp fangs and dangerously glowing eyes. His heart started pounding faster then he followed their golden eyed gaze to one of his socked feet, peeking out from under the cloak. He quickly bent his knees slightly and moved the cloak to completely cover himself again. He remained still, hardly daring to breath and after one of the longest minutes he had ever experienced, he relaxed as the statues faced forwards again, their expressions blank and calm.

He took tiny steps until the statues were no longer facing him then he risked going a bit faster. He was up the stairs and down the corridor past identical looking doors. But he knew where he was going, he remembered the day very well. Apart from the horribly awkward end, in which he considered throwing himself off a great height, the Yule Ball was one of the best nights of the year. He tried the door but found it locked. He whispered an " _Alohomora._ " and heard a little click, he then opened the door.

He had only caught a short glimpse of the room before, but it was exactly as he remembered it. It had a lot of Corinne's belongings, proving that she had indeed been planning to return here before the end of the year. He looked around briefly before he pushed down his curiosity and tried to remember what Corinne had said. " _I doubt the Ministry will care about me enough to check if the Portkey's been activated, I just hid it in my desk._ " The desk!

He ran forwards and opened the various drawers one by one. It wasn't until the one right at the bottom, that he found a familiar box and he let out a sigh of relief. Inside was a golden badge with two letter 'T's attached to it. It looked exactly the same as the one he used with Fred and George to get to the Burrow during the Christmas period.

"Okay." Harry muttered to himself as he tightened the cloak around him. He held the Portkey tightly in his palm. "Get in. Stay hidden. Find Corinne. Ask her if she wants to come back with me. Come back with her. Get to the final task. Watch final task. And remember to get a photo..."

He repeated the plan twice more, like prayer or a mantra. Then he closed his eyes and took in several deep gulps of air, trying to slow down his still pounding heart. "Okay… Time to… go-"

He felt the tug on his navel, as the Portkey took him away.

* * *

 **A/N**

Woo, here we go! Alright, there's two more chapters until the end of the 4th year and I managed to finish writing it a few days ago. I don't want to drag it out any longer than I have to, I really want to get them uploaded! So instead of the weekly schedule, I'm going to be posting the rest of the chapters every few days. I still need to go through them a few times to check for mistakes and edit stuff, but I shouldn't have a problem posting it. Review if you want to get them even quicker! I'll drop everything and start the editing if I get... let's see... 5 reviews? Is that too much to ask? =p

How many of you noticed the message in the letter in the first read through? Oh dear Merlin, I had trouble writing these! It's so awkwardly phrased in some places! I'm just so glad the main character is called Harry and not Zonko or something like that...

Now a message to the Guest reviewer, who probably won't read this but hey, I still want to send my reply out to the universe. I presumed Harry was sort of nervous flying for the first time. I just read through the section of the book and it doesn't really say either way whether Harry was nervous or not. And I don't think I've made my Harry overly nervous, just a bit apprehensive about doing something for the first time. I'm pretty sure Hermione knew something about the Chamber of Secrets, I think it was mentioned in Hogwarts: A History, and that's why she was trying to borrow it from the library in the second book. I just went with the idea that since it's her first year, the stuff she read would have been fresher in her mind. But even then she doesn't exactly know everything and it was the others that ended up explaining it.

As for the other characters... I didn't want to dump a whole load of information about the differences and the reasons for it right at the start. I might not really be objective, but I think the divergences rippling from the prologue incident is one of the more intriguing parts of my story, especially for the first three years. And as for some of the major characters, the reason for the differences are quite important to the plot. I don't exactly know who you were thinking of, but for someone like Riddle for example, I had to keep it quiet until the end of the third year for what I hope was quite a dramatic reveal. Ugh, I know my first two years were not my best. As I've said previously, writing is a first for me. And I rushed through the plot and didn't concentrate as much on character development. I kinda wanted to quickly get to the more meatier part of the story I wanted to tell, which sort of starts at the 4th year.

Anyway, thank you for writing the review. You could have just dismissed it and not given it another thought, but you took some time to actually send a message. You certainly didn't have to wish me luck, and I really appreciate that a lot! =)


	38. Year 4 - Chapter 15

**A/N**

Just quickly want to say this is the second chapter I uploaded this week. Y4C14 was uploaded yesterday. I'm not completely sure how the whole alerting thing works, but was just a bit worried some people might skip to the latest chapter update and miss out the previous one.

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

 **The Cloak Unveiled**

 _HELP ME CANT LEAVE BROKE WAND_

 _HELP_

 _HELP_

 _HELP_

 _HELP_

 _...you are the only person that I would like to see again._

 _I love you Harry_

 _Corinne Lansquenet_

* * *

There was something wrong. Harry first realised that when he found himself with his cheek pressed against the floor. Admittedly, it wasn't that strange to find yourself in a collapsed heap on the ground after travelling via Portkey, but it was strange that he couldn't remember it happening. He also had a splitting headache, almost as bad as the one he suffered during his first year when he encountered Grindelwald. When the dark wizard had touched his flesh it had caused him enough pain to make him almost black out. He idly wondered if the Cruciatus Curse felt as bad as this, or if it was worse.

Then he gasped and tried to sit up. Grindelwald. Was he here? He wasn't tied down and he still had the invisibility cloak wrapped around him. He fumbled inside his pockets to find that his wand was still with him as well. He took it out, just in case. He had to blink several times, his vision was foggy and distorted. He thought he must have dropped his glasses but a quick check made him realise they were still on his face.

He stood up shakily and looked around. He was in a large and comfortable looking sitting room. There was a large plush sofa sitting opposite a television set. In the corner was a small bookcase packed with paperbacks. This was definitely a Muggle home. When he turned his head to look out the window, the sunlight streaming inside seemed to intensify, blinding him and he felt his skull trying to split open.

Harry took shallow little breaths. He didn't have time for this. He needed to find Corinne and get out of here. Whatever this headache was, he could deal with it later when they were back at Durmstrang.

It was incredibly slow going. Every step he took was accompanied by a blinding pain that blurred his vision. But he gritted his teeth and kept moving forwards, taking care not to look out of the windows again.

He managed to reach a set of stairs and put his foot on the first step but then he froze. The creak it let out made him cringe and he stood still for a minute. But nothing happened. No one turned up. It almost seemed like the house was empty. He skipped that step and reached for the next one. His progress was less walking and more clawing himself up by holding onto the bannister. When he reached the top, he was breathing heavily and sweat dripped down his back, a little from the exertion but more from the constant and never-ending dull ache in his head.

The landing was dim and he couldn't see that far ahead. Was it dark? What time was it? How long had he been unconscious before he woke up? He couldn't remember any of this but he quashed down the panic that was starting to creep up, he had to find Corinne.

He stepped in front of each of the doors and carefully put his ear against each of them, listening for anyone inside before slowly turning the handles. The doors opened to very uninteresting rooms you would find in any house, a few bedrooms and a bathroom, completely empty with no one inside. He went through each of them once more, this time not caring about making a little noise, he was confused but confident that the house was empty.

He dismissed the master bedroom immediately and considered the other smaller rooms. Corinne had never mentioned a sibling but then again by what she had told him, it seemed that her parents were more likely to keep her in the smallest one. Taking a chance he opened the door and walked inside. It was a little shabby but it was no worse or better than Harry's own room at Privet Drive, with a bed, a little desk and a wardrobe. There wasn't much else apart from that. No photos, or books or little trinkets that told you anything about the person that lived here. It was, Harry thought again bitterly, very much like his own room at Privet Drive. He thought he must have made a mistake and turned to check the other rooms when something caught his eye.

There was a single feather tucked into the corner, he recognised it as one from an owl. It was something that was very unusual unless you were a wizard or a witch, and received mail by owl post. Corinne had said her mother disliked owls in the house, but perhaps it was left over from earlier that year. If Beauxbatons was anything like Hogwarts, she must have received a letter from her school at the start of the year. He walked over to pick it up and after another flash of pain, saw that is was a murky grey, no slightly brownish maybe.

Despite the discovery, he was no where closer to finding Corinne. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, trying to remember any little bit of information that she had given him. He recalled her mentioning a cellar, one where her mother had stored her father's belongings after his death. Although he dreaded to imagine the possibility of her being trapped in there while her parents were seemingly gone, it felt believable. He could easily imagine his aunt and uncle doing it to him if there had been a cellar under Privet Drive. They had, after all, locked him in a cupboard until he was eleven.

When he reached the ground floor again, he heard the first sound that indicated there might have been someone in the house with him. It wasn't a footstep or a small cough, it was a whimpered little sob that sent a chill down his spine. He swallowed nervously and tried to find the source of the noise. He turned back to look up the steps that he had just walked down, but no… It wasn't coming from up there, it was coming from…

Harry's breathing became louder as fear and rage flashed through him. He bounded towards the little door on the side of the stairs and crouched down, placing his ear against it. The sobs were louder, he was right, there was someone inside the cupboard. "Corinne?"

The sobbing stopped and there was a startled gasp, " _Harry?_ "

"Oh Merlin, it's good to hear your voice..." he said, even though there was a renewed jolt of a headache in his temples.

"You got my message! Oh, they were reading everything I sent, so I couldn't..." she broke out into painful sobs again.

Harry gritted his teeth and looked at the door. There was a latch but also a padlock. "Don't worry, I'll get you out!"

"Don't use magic!" Corinne shrieked. "They'll be able to trace it back to you! They'll know you were here."

Harry grunted, he remembered Sirius mentioning something about the Trace. He also mentioned some way to get around it, but Remus had coughed rather loudly and gave the man a pointed look, stopping him from actually revealing what it was. He looked around for something he could use to smash the lock, while letting out a constant stream of muttering, "Damn… I didn't think anyone would… I mean, I know there are people who might lock up their… but I thought… Corinne, is anyone else home?"

"No. They've gone out. I think..." she sniffed. Harry grabbed a heavy looking metallic umbrella stand near the front door and tipped it's contents onto the floor. He shrugged off the hood of his cloak as he approached the cupboard under the stairs. He then proceeded to smash the lock. The lock didn't break, but the part of the door the padlock was attached to splintered and fell to the floor, along with the latch. He pulled the door open and then he squeezed his eyes shut and fell onto his knees as pain flooded his nerves. Corinne screamed, "Harry! Harry! Are you oka-"

The front door crashed open and there was a loud bellow. Harry's hands shot up to cover his ears, but the loud ringing noise seemed to be coming from inside his head. He caught the sounds of rapid fire French, but couldn't understand a single word, until the name 'Harry Potter' popped up.

"You!" a deep voiced guttural laugh came from the bullish looking man standing in front of him. "Harry Potter!"

Harry's eyes widened in horror as the man took out a wand from the pocket of his jacket and pointed it at Corinne. Corinne… It was the first he had seen her in months and past the greasy unwashed hair and cobwebs clinging to her clothes, he still thought that she was beautiful. Her face was etched with fear, but she stood in front of Harry, badly shaking but still trying to protect him. "B..but you're not… W..what… how are you…"

"My… friends saw how Potter threw himself into danger to protect you." he licked his lips as he stared down at them. "I wondered how far he was willing to go in order to protect you..."

"You're Corinne's stepfather? And a wizard?" Harry struggled onto his feet, his shaky hands brought out his wand and aimed it at the man, who simply stared at it without reaction. "You're one of the _Zeugen_!"

"Does my mothe-" Corinne swallowed the rest of her question as a demure little woman walked into the house and stood next to the man.

"They… offered a lot of money… for information about… Aurors..." Corinne's mother chewed her lips nervously. "Your father was… he wasn't..."

"Oh, she did as she was told..." the man guffawed. Then he cupped the woman's cheeks roughly with his hand. "One Muggle I won't be killing. I'd miss her. Well, certain parts of her- _CRUCIO!_ "

The spell caught them by surprise and Corinne screamed as she was lifted up into the air and smashed in the bannister, the wood splintering against her body.

" _S..s..stupefy!_ " Harry stuttered out a Stunning Charm, but he was aiming through squinted eyes and missed his mark by a mile.

The man smirked and lazily sent a dull orange hex at him. He didn't feel the physical force of the spell, but after a moment, he felt such agony in his head that he dropped his wand and fell to the floor. "My, my… Potter, what in Morgana's name is wrong with you?"

"You did this! What did you do!" Harry's voice was high with rage and panic.

The man laughed. "You break into my house, damage my property and now you blame me for some sort of illness you're suffering? What a terrible guest you are."

"Corinne..." Harry whispered as he risked a glance back and saw her lying still, completely unconscious, but breathing. Her chest was moving up and down very slowly. He tried to discreetly put his hand into his pocket to grip the Portkey, then he started a jump towards Corinne. Harry heard a laugh, then he crumpled to the floor gripping his head. When he looked back up, Corinne seemed to be further away.

"Oh no, Potter. You won't be escaping. Not with her anyway." the man chuckled.

He needed to keep her safe. Harry grasped out for his wand and gripped it tightly in his hand. He stood up and used his spare hand to wiggle out of the invisibility cloak. He threw it backwards and it must have fell neatly over Corinne, when he glanced back he couldn't see her.

" _STUPEFY! STUPEFY!_ " Harry cried out and the red flash streamed through the air but the man had disappeared. Laughter came from behind him and Harry spun on the spot, " _STUPEFY! INCARCEROUS!_ "

It was like he was Disapparating and appearing again a few feet away. The man cackled as the conjured ropes uselessly hit the wall and fell to the floor. "Really, Potter? YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!"

" _Accio umbrellas!_ " Harry aimed his wand towards the three umbrellas he had thrown to the floor and they flew towards him. When they were close enough he turned slightly to the Witness and roared, " _DURO!_ _DEPULSO!_ "

They hardened umbrellas glided towards the man like three black darts but he smirked at Harry and waved his wand. They were transfigured into three crows, which immediately started shaking and dissipated into a whole mess of feathers. With another flick of his wand, he sent the knife-sharp feathers towards Harry.

" _Impedimenta!_ " Harry quickly said, but they hardly slowed down, so he produced an invisible shield and most of the feathers battered against it and floated limply towards the ground. But a few passed underneath, slicing his legs and causing more pain in his head. As he was falling to his knees, he whipped his wand around and whispered, " _Silencio._ "

The man didn't dodge this spell and it hit him in the chest. He stared down at himself and laughed, "Too weak, Potter. As for the umbrellas, inventive, but inadequate. All the time spent with the Aurors... Were they teaching you to fight or did you spend the whole time posing for photos for your fans?"

Harry snarled in frustration. He had never felt this helpless before. Nothing he was doing seemed to be working. Even though he was never alone during the previous encounters with the Zeugen or other dark wizards and witches, he had never been this useless.

" _SERPENSORTIA!_ " a thick yellow-scaled snake emerged from the end of his wand and coiled threateningly. Then Harry let out a frantic hiss, " _Attack him! Attack the man with the wand!_ "

The snake looked around as if confused. The Witness had a gleeful look in his eyes, "Now we're getting somewhere! Did your Professor Riddle teach you that?"

" _Attack the man with the wand, damn it!_ " Harry repeated in Parseltongue, but for some reason the snake was completely ignoring him. The Witness didn't wait for him and aimed his wand at Harry. The tip started glowing a dangerous green.

" _CONFRINGO!_ "Harry bellowed. The wall behind the Zeuge exploded in fire and rubble, but he had already Disapparated and appeared a few feet away from the radius of the explosion. " _CONFRINGO! CONFRINGO! CONFRIGO!-_ "

He ran around the house, firing the destructive curse whenever he caught sight of the man with the smug, taunting look. He left the devastated kitchen and ran back towards the hallway. He wasn't there either. He tried to remember where he had left Corinne and blindly groped for her and the cloak.

There was a flash of movement from the corner of his eyes and he turned around with his wand raised. The man was standing right next to him. He leaned over and whispered right into Harry's ear, "It was fun… but I think it's time to end this."

He man didn't move an inch but Harry felt an explosion of pain in his side, as if a particularly aggressive Bludger had crashed into his ribs. He fell back, but he quickly turned himself and managed to land on his knees. He screamed in pain as he kicked out and immediately raised himself onto his feet. He was pointing his wand at the man with one had while clutching his broken ribs with his other.

There was a flash of pain that blinded Harry for a moment and when he opened his eyes Corinne was lying on top of the invisibility cloak, still unconscious, and her stepfather was hovering over her with a menacing grin on his face. "No! Leave her alone!"

"Or what Potter? You have lost. You will be my little gift to the Crowking, but..." the man licked his lips. "I don't think he will mind if I enjoy myself with her. But then again, I do love watching you suffer. How loud will you scream when you watch her life extinguished before your very eyes? _Avada-_ "

"NO!" Harry felt terrified. He also felt a boiling hatred, the likes of which he'd ever experienced. He pointed his shaking wand at the man and bellowed, " _CRUCIO!_ "

"... _Harry, no!_..."

As bad as the pain in his head was, and it was bad, he knew that the Witness was suffering worse. He shrieked as he twitched on the floor, his limbs twisting into odd angles. He wanted to leave the man like this forever, but he finally flicked his wand and ended the spell when he noticed Corinne starting to stir awake. She let out a little moan of pain and Harry stepped towards her. He stopped when he saw movement from the man, no. It wasn't him. It was Corinne's mother who had thrown herself at her husband and was prising the wand out of his still twitching fingers.

" _Avada-_ " Harry's eyes widened in confusion. She wasn't a witch, was she? But she was pointing the wand at Corinne and her mouth was already moving, slowly and clearly incanting the Killing Curse.

" _CRUCIO!_ " the curse hit the woman and she fell to the floor screaming.

"... _Harry, please! Stop!..._ "

Harry only held it for a second or two while he fumbled inside his robes for the Portkey. He ignored the pain in his ribs and ran for Corinne. She had stirred awake and was sitting up slightly. "Corinne! It's the Portkey, grab my hand!"

"Harry..." she beamed a smile at him. He was a few feet away and she stretched her arm towards him. Harry reached out, holding the Portkey in his palm. Their hands met. Then his hand passed through her. The smile never left her face as she dissipated into thin air, like a wisp of smoke.

Harry's hand shot out towards his head as he felt an explosion of pain. And as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone. His headache was completely gone. He flopped onto the floor like a puppet who's strings had been cut.

"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"

The sudden screaming from behind stirred him awake. He felt extremely weak and the pain in his ribs was definitely still there, but his vision felt completely clear. He felt so confused as he looked around for Corinne. He waved his hand in front of him, wondering if she had vanished under the cloak again. No, the cloak was right there in front of him. Harry pushed himself off the floor and turned towards the high pitched wailing.

"No..." Harry felt his mouth go dry. He felt like he couldn't breath. "No. No. No. No..."

"GET OUT! GET OUT!" Petunia Dursley screamed at him. She was clutching onto Vernon Dursley's half raised body. One of his eyes had a slightly glassy look and the other was wide and terrified. His body was twitching, but he held on tightly to a golf club, which was bent as if he had used it to hit something.

Harry looked around in horror. Even past the broken furniture, crumbling walls and the small fires burning patches in the carpet, he recognised the place. Four Privet Drive. He was in Four Privet Drive. "No. I'm not. It's not..."

"GET OUT! I DON'T CARE THAT YOU ARE MY SISTER'S SON. YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOME HERE. GET OUT AND NEVER DARKEN OUR DOORSTEP AGAIN! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" her angry shouts were accompanied by a thundering boom and as soon as the last words were out of her mouth, Harry thought he heard the sound of a thousand panes of glass shattering simultaneously.

"No… I… I didn't..." Harry wanted to explain. He needed to explain, but the words wouldn't come out. He was so out of his mind, that he didn't even think to protect himself as a vase, one that had miraculously survived all the destruction he had wrought, flew towards his head. He reflexively closed his eyes, but he remained still as it shattered against his face, the porcelain shards ripping his face into bloody tatters.

Aunt Petunia's eyes were wide and hysteric. There was terror in there, but there was something else Harry could see, something wild. As Harry watched her grab hold of the bent golf club from her husband's hands, he knew that if he stayed here she would kill him.

He turned and grabbed onto the invisibility cloak. He was already holding the Portkey, so he activated it with a hoarse whisper. When he opened his eyes, he stared dumbly around. He was back in his room. His and Cedric's, not Corinne's.

The nausea came so suddenly and he let out wave after wave of vomit onto the wooden floor, until his throat felt raw with acid. He stood up, stepping in the puddle of half digested food with his feet. Socked feet, no shoes. Where were his shoes? He sat on his bed and stared blankly ahead. He just couldn't wrap his head around what had just happened. What he had just done. If it wasn't for the pain in his ribs and on his face, he would have thought that is was some sort of horrible nightmare.

He stepped off his bed and shakily made his way towards his trunk. He kneeled on the floor and opened it. It bumped against the camera that was still hanging around his neck and jolted into his ribs. He took it off and placed it inside. He paused for a moment before opening the secret compartment. He ripped open the envelopes and pulled out Corinne's letters to him. They were blank. Every single one of them. He shut his eyes, willing the words to appear. Nothing happened and he threw them back inside. After a moment he stuffed the invisibility cloak in there as well.

He then suddenly thought of something else. Harry frantically tore through his belonging, pulling out books, clothes, the camera he had just placed inside and everything else, including the Sneakoscope he had never gotten around to fixing. At the bottom, wrapped in one of Uncle Vernon's old socks was a box. He opened it slowly with shaky hands, only to find it empty. It was where he had kept the Portkey, knowing he'd never consider using it.

He let out an anguished cry as he threw it across the room. A loud popping noise from behind him made him turn around. "Mr. Harry Po- Your face? Oh sir, what has happended to yours face?"

"What?" Harry winced as he touched his cheeks, forgetting for a moment about his wounds.

"I will finds the Headmaster!" the elf squeaked in agitation.

"Dibbler, no!" Harry shouted and when the elf hesitated, Harry didn't. " _Stupefy!_ "

No. Not yet. He couldn't face Professor Riddle just yet. He had to think. He looked down at the elf, unconscious but wide eyed with surprise. He couldn't stop a hysteric giggle imagining what Hermione would do to him when she found out he had knocked out a house elf. That breathy giggle quickly turned to a hiss of pain down his side. He had somehow managed to come this far with what he was sure was a couple of broken ribs, but he didn't think he could move another inch. He awkwardly tried to aim his wand at the injury.

" _Episkey..._ " as soon as the word left his mouth, he clamped his teeth down over his lower lip to prevent the scream he was sure to make. He groaned miserably as he felt a white hot sensation, followed by a sudden chill. He quickly wiped the tears from his eyes and gave his chest a tentative touch. He winced. Harry had practised the spell a few times when he was with the Aurors, but it wasn't easy. Minor breaks and fractures weren't that common, especially when you had two excellent Aurors like Moody and Sirius. Also, it wasn't just that he lacked the practice to use it effectively, he was sure his own injures were too severe for the most basic of healing spells. Even so, his breathing was a little easier and he could almost ignore the pain as he moved about.

He left his room and stalked down the corridor. He slowed as he neared the stairs and from the top he could see the other elf humming to herself as she cleaned up the mess that the students had left from the afternoon. Harry aimed his wand carefully and whispered another Stunning Charm. It hit her and she collapsed face first, along with half a dozen teacups she had been levitating at the time.

He left the Hogwarts Express and stumbled onto the grass. He looked around but the grounds were empty. From the sounds of cheering and chanting he was hearing in the distance, the final task must still be taking place. How long had he been gone?

"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!" he cursed into the air. He took several deep breaths. "I just need to think..."

He started walking with no clear destination in his mind, but his mind working furiously. Where was Corinne? Someone had obviously sent the letters to him to try and lure him out. They had expected him to use Corinne's Portkey and so replaced it with Harry's. Was there someone amongst the Durmstrang students or staff that could have done it? Or maybe someone from the Beauxbatons delegation? He couldn't imagine it being any of his own friends from Hogwarts and… Corinne Lansquenet, could she have been her? Had she been planning this since their first meeting on Halloween? The thought was unbearable. Just imagining the betrayal tore his heart apart. No. He couldn't think that right now. He had to believe that the past few months had meant something to her. She must have been captured or something and others had just used their relationship.

And he had used… an Unforgivable Curse. What had Sirius said about them? That he'd be spending the rest of his life in prison? Aurors were allowed to use them, but only against Zeugen. Would they believe him if he told them he thought they were Grindelwald's fanatics? Harry let out a disbelieving laugh that turned to a sob. It wasn't exactly a secret that he had no love for his aunt and uncle.

Maybe he should try running, steal a broomstick and fly as far as he could. Should he contact Sirius or Remus? Would they understand? " _...we'll be here for you, whatever you need, whenever you need it. You just have to come and ask._ " That's what they had said to Harry when he had been feeling depressed after the incident at the Broom Race.

They were the only ones he could turn to right now. Whatever happened, he trusted them to do whatever was best for him and right now he felt couldn't trust his own judgement. He took in his surroundings for the first time since leaving the Hogwarts Express and it took him a moment to work out where he was. He broke into a light run, a full sprint was impossible because of still sore ribs, and headed back towards the train.

Turning a corner, he saw someone pop into existence. Someone arriving by Portkey. It was Sirius Black. Harry was about to cry out and run towards him when another person arrived. Then a dozen more afterwards. Harry backtracked into the shadow cast by the building, and peered at the new arrivals. Sirius was ashen faced and the rest were no better. Their expressions were an array of confusion, disbelief and one or two of anger, none of them encouraging Harry to leave his hiding place and walk over to them.

The Aurors, that's what Harry thought they were anyway, looked towards Sirius since he'd already been here once and they split up. Sirius led half of them towards the train and the others headed to the bridge, beyond that they would presumably follow the sound of the crowds to look for Professor Riddle.

Harry turned around and ran. He had never seen Sirius look like that, not even when he had blown up Aunt Marge.. It terrified Harry and he felt lost and alone with no idea what to do or where to go. He didn't consider where he was going and his cold feet led him down the path he had already taken so many times this year, to the concealed door in the outer walls. He entered through it and opened the secret passageway Corinne had shown him, and before it had even fully opened, he stepped inside.

There was a dim glow just bright enough that he could move forwards without bumping into the walls as he followed the narrow passageway. The smell of damp and dust filled his nose, it was evident that this passageway hadn't been used for a long time. Harry walked as if he was in a trance. The memory of what had happened replaying over and over again in his mind, and then the strangest thing started to happen.

Instead of the sneering follower of Grindelwald, he remembered his frightened uncle and the short older woman with a passing resemblance to Corinne, slowly transformed to the tall blonde figure of his aunt. The first glance he made outside the window showed the quiet suburban neighbourhood he had lived for over a decade and he couldn't recall hearing any sobs when he pressed his ear against the door underneath the stairs.

He eventually reached the end of the passageway where strands of light from the setting sun peered through thick strands of ivy. He pulled apart the green curtain and stepped through, shrugging them off as the tendrils clung on to his robes. He could still hear sounds of the Triwizard Tournament spectators, but it was much further away. Harry absently thought he must have somehow ended up walking the complete length of the island and out on the other side.

The weariness hit him suddenly, like a blow to the head, and he dropped to the ground. With his forehead on his knees, he curled into a tight ball and closed his eyes. What was he going to do?

Harry wasn't sure how long had passed when he heard the soft sounds of footsteps on the grass. He sighed and let out a resigned sob. He couldn't run. He was hurt and stuck on top of a mountain which was, by all accounts, almost a day's journey from the nearest human settlement, Muggle or magical. Harry slowly raised his head to face the judging looks of anger. Harry was slightly taken aback at the person who stopped a few feet away from him and stared down at the mess of a boy.

"So… It has come to this." Kendra Dumbledore said quietly. Her face was unreadable, but there was a slight coldness to it that Harry had never seen before. In the few instances Harry had met the woman, he never considered her a warm or overly friendly person, but he still found a slight reassurance from her. He thought of her along the same lines as someone like Professor McGonagall or Percy Weasley. Someone who you definitely would not want around if you were planning a prank or ignoring unfinished homework for a game of Exploding Snap. But when he had been wronged she had offered her help, even if it meant going against her own father.

"Kendra… please..." Harry croaked, but for what he did not know. Help? Punishment? Forgiveness?

"So… It has come to this." she repeated, ignoring his pleading tone. "The prophecy has come to pass..."

"The prophecy!" Harry clambered onto his feet and faced her. "It's not true! It won't happen! This was just a mistake, it wasn't my fault! I didn't mean to do this!"

"You know of the prophecy?" she asked. "Riddle told you of it?"

"No… Not exactly..." Harry admitted. "But I found out... And it can't be true! I would never kill anyone! I wouldn't harm anyone!"

"Then do you deny the accusations your uncle and aunt are levelling against you?" Kendra demanded.

Harry let out a sob as the memories flashed again in his mind. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia screaming in pain as they writhed helplessly on the floor. "It..it wasn't… I was trying to help a friend…"

"A friend?" she said after a moment.

"Yes!" he reached out imploringly and spoke quickly. "My f..friend, Corinne. She returned home a few months ago and she wrote to me. She said she was in danger so I sneaked into her room and used the Portkey, the ones the Ministry gave us for the Christmas holidays, and I thought it would take me to her home. But someone swapped the Portkeys! And… it… and wh..when I got there, I thought I was seeing… I can't explain it, I couldn't tell it was my aunt and uncle, they looked like Corinne's parents! I couldn't tell I was back at Privet Drive! I thought they were Zeugen and they were trying to kill us, both of us!"

She listened quietly, but her face grew harder with each passing second. "A friend in danger, swapped Portkeys and an inability to identify your surroundings? Mr. Potter, do you realised how convoluted your story sounds? Is there any proof of this? You say she sent letters asking for help?"

"Yes! They're… they're..." he suddenly remembered the blank sheets of paper. "The words… disappeared somehow… I don't kno-"

"Then were you seen going into this 'friend's' room, someone who has witnessed from where you left?" she questioned sharply.

"N..n..no… I..I was hiding under… an invisibility cloak..." Harry whispered hoarsely.

Kendra Dumbledore scoffed disbelievingly. "Now there is an invisibility cloak involved as well?"

"It's true! I can show you!" Harry cried in desperation. "It wasn't my fault, someone… tricked me into this..."

"Mr. Potter, why in Merlin's name would anyone want you to torture your aunt and uncle?" Kendra asked in disbelief. "Or rather, why would anyone other than yourself want to see your aunt and uncle tortured?"

Harry was breathing raggedly and was on the verge of tears. "It… I… It must be Grindelwald! He… it's something… he's behind it!"

She stared at him for a long time, then she slowly shook her head. "I am aware you have had encounters with his followers during your little trips with the Aurors. His followers still exist, but Gellert Grindelwald, the King of Crows, is dead. _Gone_. There is no hidden adversary directing your actions. There is only you taking your first steps down a path from which there is no returning."

"It's not true… It's not true..." Harry whimpered miserably.

"There will be those that would believe you," Kendra said in a whisper. "and there are even those that would like to sweep this whole mess under the rug to keep your reputation intact. My father included. He would spin a tale of how you were tricked, or perhaps he would paint your guardians as monsters, deserving of what you have done to them. They are, after all, only Muggles. To many, you are far too valuable to rot in the likes of Azkaban..."

A hopeful light entered Harry's eyes. "Then… I'm… not…? You're not going to…?"

"My father controls the British Ministry. He has enough friends in governments world wide. For you, Mr. Potter, even the Unforgivable would be forgiveable." she let out a long breath and pulled out her wand. She aimed it at his heart. "Then what would become of you? When you bring about darkness, leaving death in your wake? How could I live with myself, if I walked away from the one chance I have to stop all that from happening? I cannot turn a blind eye when countless lives and the very future of the wizarding world hangs in the balance."

Harry took a step back. "No… No… please..."

"To coin a very dark phrase, Mr. Potter, it's for the greater good. I hope you understand." Kendra Dumbledore said. " _Avada Kedavra!_ "

* * *

 **A/N**

Wow, 9 reviews for this chapter, well 7 if you don't count the reviews from the same person. Not that I mind. =D

In the immortal words of Albus F F Rowling . net "Reviews will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." =p

Well, I promised so here you go. A few days earlier than I had originally planned.

Oh yeah, just in case anyone is still confused by how 'secret' message in the letters works, it's the first letter of each sentence, ignoring Corinne's name. That's why I had horribly long sentences that sounded really awkward.

Whew... sorry I left it at another cliffhanger. It's finally happened, what I'd been planning since I started the story. I hope it wasn't too predictable. I was dropping hints, while trying to throw you off the scent as well...

Okay, so once more I will shamelessly throw myself into asking for reviews! I'm a bit busy so I don't think I'll be able to get the final chapter up tomorrow. I had a quick skim through what I've written and there's quite a lot I want to double check before I upload it. But I will try and get it up as quickly as possible. Reviews will certainly help me along! So, I had 7(9) for this chapter, can we push it into double digits? Pretty please? =)


	39. Year 4 - Chapter 16

**A/N**

Just quickly want to say this is the third chapter I uploaded this week. Y4C14 was uploaded Sunday and Y4C15 on Monday. I'm not completely sure how the whole alerting thing works, but was just a bit worried some people might skip to the latest chapter update and miss out the previous ones.

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

 **Unexpected Truth, Unavoidable Lies**

The tip of her wand flashed. The bolt of light, green with the colour of death, hummed through the air towards Harry. He couldn't move. He closed his eyes. He was going to die.

"NO!" then came an incoherent shout and a powerful gust of wind slammed into him, knocking him off his feet. Harry opened his eyes just in time to watch the Killing Curse fly over him. "Kendra, what are you going!"

"Tom Riddle." the witch lowered her wand slightly and narrowed her eyes at him. "I have warned you of things that may come. I have given you the chance to prevent it, but evidently you have failed."

The Headmaster helped Harry up and placed himself protectively between his student and the Unspeakable. He shook his head wearily, "There has to be a mistake. Harry wouldn't do this..."

The boy couldn't meet the Professor's eyes and stared at his feet. Kendra let out a snort, "Does his reaction not tell you everything Riddle? His relatives have already been thoroughly questioned and Harry has all but admitted to his actions."

A hand reached for Harry's shoulder. "Harry, tell me what happened..."

"I..I.." Harry stuttered, reluctantly raising his head to meet the Headmaster's gaze. "I tried to go to Corinne, using her Portkey… There was a message in her letters, asking for help. When I arrived… I didn't realised it was Privet Drive… there was something… fogging my mind. I thought my uncle and aunt were Zeugen… I thought that they were going to kill her..."

Professor Riddle considered his words carefully, then nodded, "I believe you."

"You do?" Harry breathed in relief.

"Riddle!" Kendra said angrily. "It does not matter whether you believe him, it does not erase the fact that he used an Unforgivable Curse against his own family! He could have disarmed them, stunned them, he could have used any number of spells that would have seen him safely back here. Was this not why he has been training with the Aurors? But no! He resorted to using magic that is not condoned!"

"I couldn't!" Harry insisted, feeling a fraction more courage than a moment ago. "He was… the person I thought I was facing… he was too powerful… Nothing else I tried worked!"

"In all magic, intention is paramount. You know this Kendra..." Riddle said in an almost lecturing tone.

"The prophecy!" Kendra Dumbledore's insistence was almost manic.

Professor Riddle looked startled and darted a glance at Harry. His voice was clear when he spoke to the Unspeakable. "Prophecies are not infallible."

They stared at each other for a long time, eyes unwavering. A thousand desperate thoughts rushed through Harry's head as he clung on to the back of the Headmaster's robes like a terrified child. Kendra closed her eyes and her arm fell to her side. Riddle lowered his wand as well. "What will you do? If you allow the Aurors to take him, my father will get his wish. Harry will be under his control before the morning. My father will use him until he is spent, then toss him aside. I dread to think how Harry will turn out then..."

"What?" Harry gasped. He had never heard her talk so harshly about her father before.

Riddle looked surprised as well. He grimaced and shook his head. "I know… but… we still have ways to fight this. As much as I loathe the lax laws against Muggles, it will work in our favour. We will try and come to an understanding with the Dursleys and find somewhere else Harry could spend his summers."

"I don't think you realise how bad the situation is. When I was leaving, the whole Ministry was in an uproar. If you remember, this is the second incident involving Harry and is relatives. The first left him with a Nullificare Charm." she snapped. "However many allies you think you have, my father has more. He got his way then, and you're unlikely to stop him this time either. From what little I have learned from Harry before… you arrived, it seems there is little evidence to prove that Harry's actions was not of his own free will. They might be able to find this 'friend' of his, but until then it just looks like Harry willingly attacked and tortured the people he has lived with for fourteen years."

"You're right..." Riddle sighed. "I have places where we could lay low, for a while at least. We can use the time to track down our own leads."

"This may help you..." Kendra slowly removed something from her robes. It was a small shiny-metallic sphere, almost the size of a Bludger. "It may help you hide from him..."

The object arced across the air and Professor Riddle reached for it. Moments before his hands met the sphere, Kendra quickly raised her wand. Riddle's eyes widened in surprise and he pulled back, raising his own wand in reply. The sphere seemed to unravel mid air, long thin tentacles sprouted rapidly and hissed through the air at an alarming speed towards the Professor's hands. The Headmaster was quick, quicker than anyone Harry had seen before, and sent out three flashes of light from his wand. The first tentacle burnt to a crisp and another was cut into tiny strips. One simply vanished. However, he didn't manage to complete a fourth incantation and lashed out with his spare hand.

It wrapped around his arm and the Headmaster let out a shout as his back stiffened straight. The tentacle whipped around his other hand, the one holding the wand, and bound his wrists together. He collapsed to his knees with his fingers in an uncontrollable spasm. His wand fell from his grasp and with a flick of her wand, it was in Kendra's hands. "Kendra, you-!"

"Forgive me, Professor Riddle." she cautiously stepped forwards, her wand aimed at the now exposed Harry. "You may be willing to risk our world for the sake of one boy, but I am not... _Expelliarmus!_ "

Harry's eleven and a half inch cypress wand, with a unicorn hair core was forcibly removed from his hand before he even had a chance to blink. Riddle roared in fury, "He is only a child! Prophecies can be prevented! You said yourself, no one is sure who it concerns! There is even a chance it may be about me!"

"The wounds from the last war are still too fresh. We can not survive another one." Kendra muttered, ignoring Riddle's shouts. Harry fell onto his back and crawled backwards as the witch loomed closer. "Forgive me, Mr. Potter, if you are indeed innocent, but I am staking my everything that I am correct. There will be no clemency for murdering a child and certainly none for murdering the Boy Who Lived. But I will die before a dark lord is born..."

Harry desperately looked to Professor Riddle for help, but he had his head lowered, as if in prayer, and wasn't even looking in Harry's direction. Harry's looked around for someone else, anyone else to come help him, but they were alone. "Please… I'm not evil! The prophecy is wrong! Don't- Don't-!"

" _Avada_ _-_ "

" _NO!_ " the words from Tom Riddle's mouth were a familiar hiss. The thing that was binding his hands together started to whither into flecks of dust. He raised his head and glared at Kendra Dumbledore with baleful red eyes. He flexed his finger towards her and let out three words in a dangerous low whisper, " _Come to me_ _._ "

"- _Kedavra!_ "

Harry couldn't tell from where they had appeared from, but the snakes immediately swarmed him, completely covering him up like a cocoon. When they fell off of him, Harry was lifted off his feet and stood behind Professor Riddle.

"...how?" Kendra asked in a breathless whisper.

"Wands are infinitely more reliable, but needs must." Riddle replied, slightly out of breath. His eyes were still glowing red. "I will not be able to control my magic very well. If you face me now, I can not guarantee you will remain unscathed. Leave now and I may forgive the actions you have taken in the last few minutes."

Kendra stared at him defiantly. "No."

"So be it." Riddle made a fist and jerked it towards himself.

Riddle's wand flew out of Kendra's pocket, but she moved quickly and managed to grab it in the air. She gave him a cold look then she snapped it in two. Harry gasped and Professor Riddle let out a grunt of distress as she threw the pieces aside. Then they began to duel. Even without his wand, watching the Headmaster wield his magic was as intense as Harry had ever seen. But it was raw and untamed, he tore up chunks of earth, summoned wild belches of flames and hurled them all at the witch. Kendra Dumbledore was calculating, her expression showing very little effort. She blocked or dodged the Professor's attacks and sent precise curses and hexes back at him. More than once she aimed her magic directly at Harry.

At first the Headmaster roughly dragged his student this way and that, but once Harry got over the shock of being in the middle of this unrestrained duel to the death, he forced himself to consider what was happening and started to move accordingly. After that, the Headmaster only had to nudge him a certain direction or give him a quiet hiss, half the time in Parseltongue, to avoid the incoming attacks.

"You are an extraordinary wizard, Tom Riddle. It makes one wonder where you would have ended up had you not chosen the path of teaching." Kendra remarked as Riddle sent a wave of his snakes into the air towards her. She turned her wand to the thickest part of the swarm, " _Petrosus_ _A_ _spicere!_ "

A prism of dull yellow ray of light bloomed from her wand and every single one of the conjured serpents that touched it stiffened into greyish stone. They dropped to the ground one by one and shattered. Riddle let out a mirthless laugh, "I could say the same to you, Unspeakable. You wield dark magic with surprising proficiency."

"Do not mistake my choice not to use such magics as a lack of ability to do so. You could not imagine how much you can learn by working in the Department of Mysteries. There is no dark or light, knowledge itself is without morals. You are correct, Riddle, it is the intention and not the spell that matters." her hand disappeared up one of her sleeves and as she waved her arm in a wide arc, she threw some sort of powder into the air. "And I intent to prevent a catastrophe! _Levitas_ _S_ _ituare!_ "

The Headmaster once again conjured a gust of wind but to little effect. The powder seemed to melt in the air, settling as a fine golden mist around them. At the Unspeakable's incantation, a bolt of gold emerged from her wand. It flew across the air, but not towards Harry nor the Headmaster. Instead it hit the mist and disappeared. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, then Harry felt a strange sensation in his stomach. He unconsciously reached out for the back of the Headmaster's robes as they started to ascend rapidly, before they stopped and remained hovering awkwardly, about fifty feet in the air and completely upside down.

"Hold on Harry." the Headmaster twisted in the air and he began to accelerate towards the edge of the gold mist.

"Unaided flight!" Kendra exclaimed. Even from this distance Harry could tell she looked impressed. "You continue to amaze me, Riddle. The things you could have accomplished, had you not chosen to side with Harry Potter."

They escaped the mist and immediately started plummeting towards the hard ground. With a grunt of effort, Professor Riddle landed them lightly, while dodging another three curses sent towards them by Kendra. "We are on the same side. We both want to stop a tragedy from occurring. There is still time to fix this."

"No. We have wasted enough time. Now we end this." she uttered with a finality that sent a chill down Harry's spine. She pointed her wand directly at them and began to chant in a low murmur. A flickering black flame emerged from the tip of her wand, only as big as the flame from a matchstick. It grew larger then shrunk back again, almost as if she was containing it with her spell. But every time this happened, the colour seemed to deepen, to a black so dark that it sucked in the very light surrounding it.

The Professor frantically started sending wave after wave of magic towards her. But even as she was fully concentrating on the tip of her wand, she seemed to be able to sense the magic. She used her spare hand pull out objects from her robes, more tentacled spheres, strange powders and other things, and used them to block what she could not avoid. She didn't come out completely unharmed, she had scorch marks over her robes and had collapsed onto her knees when a boulder connected with her thighs with such a force, Harry was sure it must have broken. But even as sweat started to glisten on her brows, she continued her chanting.

"Don't do this!" Riddle shouted, but his plea was once again ignored. With a resigned look he whispered in Parseltongue, " _Stop her..._ "

She continued her chanting but suddenly her wand wavered and she let out a grunt of surprise. She twisted her neck sideways and blindly started groping the air around her throat. She clutched onto something invisible that slowly appeared. A thin red and black viper had it's fangs embedded deep into her jugular. She let out a raspy cough and her wand twitched. The black flames wavered, expanding and contracting ominously. Professor Riddle hissed something then threw his hands into the air, raising a wall of earth in front of them seconds before a deafening explosion threw Harry to the ground. Harry covered his mouth with his robes but he couldn't help but inhale the hot air and felt his lungs burning. Harry gasped for oxygen and thought he was going to pass out, until a cool breath of air flowed down his nostrils.

As the dust settled, Harry took in the sight of devastation in front of them. Numerous small craters scarred the earth, black flames curing up from each of them. Lying further away was a black charred mound. After a quick glance to make sure Harry was okay, Riddle rushed over to it. He waved his hand as he approached and the ashes, of what Harry realised were the last of Riddle's snakes, blew away and revealed Kendra Dumbledore's still form. Her skin and robes were scorched black, despite Professor Riddle's attempt to help her.

When Harry caught up with him, he was crouching over her, checking for a pulse. Harry eventually managed to speak, "Is..is she… dead?"

"She's alive, but barely." the Professor muttered. When he turned to Harry again, the deep redness in his eyes had vanished. He looked tried and worried, but his eyes were wide and alert, looking as though a thousand thoughts were going through his mind. "Okay, Harry. We'll need to-"

"HARRY!" Sirius, and another Auror Harry didn't recognise, ran towards them. Sirius wrapped his arms around Harry. Harry hugged back, he was feeling too tired and hurt and so damned confused to feel embarrassed.

The other Auror gasped as she noticed the unconscious person on the ground, "Th..that's.. Kendra Dumbledore! That's Albus Dumbledore's daughter!"

Harry could almost guess what wild thoughts were going through her mind as her eyes darted from the bloody faced Harry to the scorched Unspeakable looking as still as death. She eventually settled with a glare on the battle-weary Professor and she fumbled her wand towards him.

" _Stupefy_ " Tom Riddle said tiredly, and the red flash hit her before she could open her mouth.

Sirius grabbed her as she fell and gently lowered her onto the grass. The fact that he didn't raise his own wand at Tom Riddle, despite the fact that the Headmaster had just assaulted a law enforcement official, showed how much trust he had in the man. He instead raised a tentative hand towards the wounds on Harry's face, "Riddle, what the _hell_ is going on? What happened to Harry? Where did _she_ come from and why is she… she's not dead, is she?"

"No, she's not." Riddle said. "And I'm not completely sure what's going on myself. But if I had to guess... Grindelwald has begun to make his move."

Sirius went pale, "Grindelwald? Then you're saying she's-"

"No. Not this one. I don't… think so anyway. She may merely be another pawn entangled in his century long plan..." Riddle muttered. "Subtle, he was always so subtle. His greatest weapon was never the Krähenkönigs Zeugen. They stood out, loud and aggressive, but no. His power came from the subtle knife, planted in your back long before you realised it was there..."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, growing more agitated as he listened to his former Headmaster. "Did Har-"

"Sirius. I need to get Harry back to Hogwarts. Things are moving quickly and I need to know all that he can tell me." the Headmaster interrupted the Auror as he heard several of Sirius' colleagues shouting at them and running towards them. Every single one of them had their wands out. The Auror moved to speak but the Headmaster raised his hand to silence him. "Sirius, please! I need you to look after the students. I'll have Minerva or someone else come to escort them back to Hogwarts, but until then I trust no one other than you to keep them safe."

Sirius gritted his teeth, but eventually relented. "Damn it. I'll do it, but I want an explanation from you as soon as possible."

"You will get one, but it will not likely be from me." Professor Riddle glanced down at the two unconscious witches. "Make sure you get them help, Kendra Dumbledore especially. She is unlikely to last long, and if she dies..."

"Alright. Harry I'll see you soon. Stay safe..." Sirius gave the boy's shoulder a tight squeeze before he ran to meet the Aurors, trying to buy them a little time to escape.

"Harry, I should have asked before I used it." the Professor gave the wand he was holding a little shake. It was Harry's wand, thankfully undamaged. The Professor wistfully looked around the battleground, as if he was trying to locate his own. But Harry doubted there was little more than a few specs of ash from the Professor's broken wand still remaining.

"It's fine, Professor Riddle..." Harry said.

Tom Riddle nodded his thanks and pointed the wand at Kendra. " _Obliviate..._ "

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"A Memory Charm. I removed the memory of… a proph- Harry, you made it sound as if you knew about the prophecy." the Headmaster sent him a questioning look.

"I..I… do..." Harry said, feeling slightly guilty.

"Alright, we'll need to get out of here first." he glanced towards the approaching Aurors and picked up a cracked rock from the ground. A look of great concentration formed on his face and he pointed Harry's wand at it, " _Portus._ "

It gave a brief blue glow as it shook violently against the Headmaster's hands. When he offered it to Harry, the boy touched it without hesitation. He was then immediately reminded of the fact that he had a few ineptly healed ribs that was forgotten in the heat of the battle. They throbbed painfully and Harry collapsed with a grunt as they arrived in the Headmaster's office. When the Professor voiced his concern, Harry said he was fine for the moment. "You said you needed to know more… what do you want to know?"

"Hold on a moment. _Expecto Patronum!_ " a silvery snake erupted from the wand. "Minerva, I need you in my office. Now."

The snake vanished and the Headmaster hurried to a bookcase on the side and lifted a familiar looking stone basin. He carried it and placed it onto the desk. "That's a..."

"A Pensieve, yes. We're going to be using this because I need to know _everything_ and we don't have the luxury of time. Now Harry, extracting a memory isn't difficult, but it requires some time to practice in order to get it right. I can forcibly extract it from you, but it will be uncomfortable, and more than likely a little painful as well, especially given your current condition." Tom Riddle looked at him apologetically.

"Do it. Whatever you need..." Harry said, grim resolution on his face.

"Thank you Harry, and I'm sorry for this..." the Headmaster pointed the wand at Harry's head and muttered an incantation that Harry didn't catch. Then Harry was back at Privet Drive. Not the utter devastation he had left behind but in his room, with his emotions dulled by the Nullificare Charm. Then he moved again. And again. Over and over again. It was as if a dozen Portkeys were working together to drag him everywhere he'd been since the summer. Flashes of moments from the past year came to the forefront of his mind and vanished before he could consider it and finally there was an explosion of pain in his head. The Headmaster staggered back, mirroring Harry's movements as his own hand shot up towards his head. "The prophecy, how..."

"Yeah..." Harry's breathing was laboured. "I..I didn't mean to eavesdrop… but I overheard you… when you told your friend..."

"My friend?" Riddle looked confused.

"Yeah, the Auror. Rosencrantz?" Harry said. "I.. I heard someone say my name… so I was a bit curious… and..."

"That wasn't me... I mean… From your memory... It was someone who sounded exactly like me, but I wasn't even in Durmstrang that day." Riddle explained with a frown. "And I didn't… hear Jørgen in your memoires… I never told him anything."

"I don't understand..." Harry's mouth went dry.

"I just heard someone, sounding remarkably like me, talk out loud to himself." Riddle said.

"The headaches..." Harry murmured. "I had a terrible headache while I was listening to… whoever it was. And at… Four Privet Drive as well..."

"This means… Grindelwald already knows of the prophecy..." Riddle sighed. "There is an Unspeakable Witness..."

"W..what does that mean?" Harry asked hesitantly, the Professor looked deep in thought. "Is that why… in Rotterdam… the Witness tried to save my life…?"

"I do not know… Kendra? The oath… it's still possible… but… her actions… it does not make sense..." the Headmaster muttered quietly to himself, then he shook away from his thoughts. As the Headmaster turned to the Pensieve, Harry saw the end of the wand and realised there was a long silver strand hanging on the tip. The Headmaster flicked it into the Pensieve, then he summoned a chair for Harry to sit on while he waited. Riddle stepped closer to the Pensieve, but stopped and turned back to Harry. "Is that why you… were so distant after Christmas?"

Harry felt a shameful blush creep onto his cheeks and he stared at the floor. Without another word, Riddle plunged head first into Harry's memories of the past year. Harry anxiously stared at the shimmering surface, he could just about make out what the Headmaster was viewing. He could make out his own skinny figure lying on the bed as the ghostly image of Dumbledore appeared in his room. Dumbledore, with black eyes. That definitely hadn't happened. Harry got to his feet and watched as a single strand of the darkness flowed out from the eyes and merged with the rest of the swirling liquid light, casting a shadow over the contents of the Pensieve. Harry had no idea if that was meant to happen, he had been inside but didn't know what it looked like to watch from the outside.

The door slammed open. "Tom! Tom, what's- MR. POTTER! What in Merlin's name happened? Were you attacked? Where is the Headmaster?"

Minerva McGonagall's face went through several shades of shock. Harry couldn't repeat the story again so he wearily pointed at the Pensieve, "He's in there..."

"Mr. Potter, I think we need to get you to the hospital wing… wh-" her words were cut short as she finally noticed the Pensieve. "Wh..what on earth? Why is it black?"

"Is it not meant to do that?" Harry asked, feeling anxious.

"No..." she leaned forwards and stared into the swirling darkness. "What is he viewing?"

"My memoires of the past year..." Harry answered quietly.

Her eyes widened as she looked at him, "...Mr. Potter, what is going on?"

The Pensieve chose that moment to give a slight wobble and Professor Riddle appeared, almost as if he was spat out. He let out a shuddering gasp as he stumbled and leaned heavily against his desk. His face had a sickly grey tinge to it, "Your memories have been... poisoned somehow. We will not be able to prove your innocence with these. Minerva, you're here..."

He raised himself and embraced the startled witch tightly. She returned a short hug before stepping back, giving Harry an embarrassed look. "Tom, what in Merlin's name is going on here? Why would we need to prove Harry's innocence?"

As the Headmaster gave a very shortened account of what had happened, as well as a few facts that he had gleamed from Harry's memories before they were corrupted, McGonagall grew even more pale. Riddle shook his head tiredly, "Albus Dumbledore will be here any minute, hopefully to arrest me for attempted murder and not murder..."

"You need to go. And take Harry with you..." McGonagall said with a shaky voice.

The Headmaster rubbed his temples and he said, "There is something Kendra Dumbledore said to Harry. She was right about one thing, all evidence points towards Harry at the moment. But there is something else I hadn't considered. If we go on the run, we can hope that the Aurors find some evidence, perhaps locate Corinne, but it will also bring you under a lot of scrutiny. We can't have them looking too closely, we need something to divert their attention away from him. The prophecy..."

"Corinne? I don't- Tom, what are you plann-" McGonagall paused, then she vigorously shook her head. "No, Tom. Absolutely not!"

"Half of those in the Ministry already think I'm about to turn into the next Grindelwald… And that's before what happened with Kendra..." his eyes were closed in thought. "Lay the blame on me for this incident and enough people will believe it not to warrant further thought."

"Why can't we just tell the truth? That it was… Grindelwald?" Harry asked, feeling miserable. Not only had he attacked the Dursleys, but now it seemed he was going to get Professor Riddle in a lot of trouble.

"Hardly anyone believes he is still alive. If you start saying that you attacked your relatives while under Grindelwald's influence, it will cast doubt on your sanity. The few Unspeakables that know of this… possible prophecy, may start linking it to you and we absolutely cannot allow that to happen. Violence against Muggles is… frowned upon, but as you may remember from your first outing with the Aurors, the consequences are often lacking. But if they start seeing your actions as a portent of things to come…" Riddle gave a grim nod. "It has to happen this way. Cast enough doubt and bring in a scapegoat that could have potentially corrupted Harry into his actions."

"Tom… no..." Minerva McGonagall stepped towards Tom Riddle and wrapped her arms around him. He looked at her with gentle eyes and kissed her lightly on the lips. Harry's eyes went wide and he was so shocked that for a moment he forgot the self-loathing and misery he was feeling. He cleared his throat and looked away uncomfortably.

Riddle held her hands and said gently, "Yes… Tell them anything and everything that they want to hear. Denounce me. Tell them I seduced you with love potions and magic. Tell them I forced you to marry me under the Imperius Curse-"

"You're married?" Harry blurted out rather loudly.

"Yes. It isn't exactly a secret, but we do try and keep it quiet. There are a few old laws about the Head of Hogwarts and his or her Deputy. We managed wiggle our way around them by keeping our relationship from becoming common knowledge." Riddle laughed despite the seriousness of the situation. He sobered as he moved to put away the Pensieve inside a cupboard, "Minerva, get Severus to look over Harry as soon as possible. He may be able to do something about the poisoned memoires. And Occlumency, have Severus teach him..."

"Headmaster. Aurors have just entered the castle. Albus Dumbledore is with them." one of the portraits on the wall squeaked. It almost sounded frightened.

"Minerva, it is of the utmost importance that we find Harry somewhere safe to stay over the summer. He can no longer stay with his relatives. You will be Headmaster after I'm gone, you need to argue for Harry to stay in the castle. Call in all favours with anyone you can at the Ministry. Dumbledore will likely use this as a chance to get Harry under his thumb and it would be… disastrous if that happened." Tom Riddle gave Harry a considering look. "I think he needs to know..."

Minerva's wet eyes narrowed and she sniffed, "No. It's too dangerous. If he somehow learns it from Harry's mind..."

"I will take every precaution, but he has to know, just in case Dumbledore's plan succeeds. And if he does, we need eyes on him. The Aurors will likely offer protection for Harry Potter, make sure one of ours gets the job." Riddle went behind his desk and opened a drawer, taking out a worn sheet of folded parchment. Using Harry's wand, he tapped it in a continuous rhythm as he muttered a long incantation. It briefly flashed red then he picked it up and handed it to Harry along with the wand. "I've charmed it so that you will only remember the contents of the letter while you hold it in your hands. Hide it in your robes and read it when you are alone. It will also tug at your mind when you feel you have a need for the information within."

"Headmaster, they're just at-" the portrait was rudely cut off as they heard a loud explosion somewhere beneath them and the room shook slightly.

"It seems Dumbledore is here… Remember to send someone to bring the students back from Durmstrang, I left Sirius looking after them for the moment. Explain everything to him, make sure his reports to his superiors make it sound as if I Confunded him and escaped. Tell anyone else who needs to know, I trust your judgement." Riddle crouched and started rifling through the drawers again. He pulled out a small brass trinket in the shape of a snake. He looked at McGonagall regretfully. "And… Minnie, I'll have to do it to you as well..."

"Do it. And do it properly. Use the Imperius Curse. It's the surest way to convince them." McGonagall said without hesitation. Then she threw her wand at him.

He caught it deftly and with a look of immense regret, pointed it at his wife, " _Imperio._ Harry I'll have to do something to you as well..."

"The Imperius Curse?" Harry asked with a hint of fear.

"I don't think we need to go that far. I think a Confundus Charm will do." the Professor tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Harry when they question you, tell them you don't remember anything. Don't mention Grindelwald and you won't need to mention me either, the others will be the ones laying suspicions on me. But… it might be a good idea to mention the strained relationship you had with your relatives."

"Why?" Harry really didn't want to.

"Because it will give them a plausible reason for your actions. They'll fill in the blanks with thoughts that I had pushed you over the edge. Albus Dumbledore legally cannot question you. If he tries to do so, refuse, on the grounds that he was the one that landed you with the Nullificare Charm, the one that even his daughter admits was wrongfully given. I'll also be doing my best to distract him away from you. And whenever you meet him, do not look him in the eyes." Riddle warned. The noises from the outside were getting louder. "People, especially your fellow students, will judge you for your actions. But you cannot tell them, even your closest friends. It may be painful for you, but the truth will eventually come out. You must endure it until then. And never, absolutely in any situation, are you to talk about the prophecy. It can not come out."

"W..what about the Zeugen… the Unspeakable Witness?" Harry asked.

Riddle sighed, "They have not revealed it so far and have killed their own to keep you safe. I have to trust that they will continue to do so and hope that we find their reasons before they can carry out their plan. If it comes to the worst, I will reconsider the plan to take you into hiding."

"R..right.." it didn't sound very reassuring.

"Harry, stay strong. I know it seems hopeless right now, but you will get through this." Professor Riddle extended his hand and squeezed the boy's shoulder. "It's time. I'm sorry about this... _Confundo._ _"_

The spell hit him and Harry suddenly felt extremely disorientated. He couldn't exactly remember what he was doing here and stared between the Headmaster and his head of house. She caught her wand with a slightly dazed expression, just as the door shuddered against it's hinges. Harry was lifted off his feet and pushed to the sides of the room by an unseen force. The door creaked, then flew into the room with the force of an explosion, straight for Professor McGonagall. She waved her wand and transfigured it into a bundle of yellow feathers that bounced harmlessly off of her robes.

"Tom Riddle." Albus Dumbledore stepped into the room looking like rage and vengeance incarnate. Harry would have been terrified of him, but in his current state he just stared blankly at the old wizard.

"Albus Dumbledore." there was an unfamiliar sneer on the Headmaster's face. "Shouldn't you be beside your daughter's deathbed?"

The elderly wizard roared with fury and sent a ball of white hot fire towards the Headmaster. With a slight move of his hands the desk lifted off the floor and collided with the fireball, exploding splinters everywhere, including at Professor McGonagall who was standing still staring blankly into space. She didn't even flinch as they ripped her robes and her skin. Harry saw the sneer on the Headmaster's face slip for the briefest of moments before coming back. He motioned at Professor McGonagall who stiffly turned towards Dumbledore, as if struggling to stop herself. Dumbledore frowned and with a quick flick of his wand, stunned her. "Imperius Curse, Riddle? I should have known. Such a promising young witch and then she marries the likes of you. How long have you been defiling her?"

"Long enough. I didn't need to Imperius her to make her fall in love with me, but when she heard what I had done to your daughter… Had Potter not ruined my plans with his little stunt against his relatives, you would never have noticed." the glowing red eyes held such contempt, Harry couldn't help but flinch back.

"Your plans? You have finally shown your true colours Tom Riddle, heir of Slytherin. I will see you executed for it." Dumbledore said angrily.

"For what? What are my crimes? I think I left your daughter alive, so not murder. Not _yet_ anyway..." he made the threat very clear. Tom Riddle gripped his hand over the snake figurine and uttered a low hiss. Dumbledore bellowed a curse at him, but the Headmaster was gone.

As breathless Aurors stumbled inside, Albus Dumbledore turned to them with such vehemence that they almost stepped back out of the office. "Tom Riddle, I want him found. I want a team of Aurors at St. Mungo's. As for these two, considering their state, I doubt they know anything, but question them anyway. See if they know anything about where Riddle might be hiding. If you learn anything, report to me. Directly. FAWKES!"

The firebird appeared with a flash of light and Albus Dumbledore grabbed onto it's tail. With a cry and an explosion of flames, the phoenix and Albus Dumbledore vanished from the room.

Professor McGonagall was revived and she let out such an uncharacteristic stream of expletives with such raw anger. The Aurors, more than a few who were her former students, were taken aback. They finally managed to 'calm' her, after she vowed to track Tom Riddle down and rip him to shreds with her bare hands. They questioned her thoroughly but she told them convincingly that she did not know the whereabouts of Tom Riddle, who was now the most wanted man by the British Ministry of Magic.

The unsettlingly quiet Harry Potter was questioned as well but he didn't know what he was meant to say. He just stared at them with a blank expression and stuttered out a few answers, but barely any in coherent sentences. Professor McGonagall watched the Aurors for a while, but then she stopped them, saying Harry needed to be seen by a Healer, that Riddle had Confunded him and that he knew absolutely nothing anyway. She insisted the matter with his relatives could be resolved later. And when Minerva McGonagall insisted, looking furious with bloody splinters poking out of her skin, even Aurors listened.

* * *

It was several hours before he was left alone. He was in a private room at St. Mungo's, the wizarding hospital. His ribs were still sore, but the Healers assured him pain would be completely gone in a day or two. His face was smooth again, there wasn't even any scarring, other than the old one on his forehead of course. He had changed into a hospital gown, but at his insistence they had left his tattered and bloody robes on a chair next to his bed. He had no idea why he wanted to keep it, he sure as hell didn't think he would ever wear them.

Without knowing why, but feeling a pressing need to do so, he reached out into one of the pockets and pulled out an unfamiliar piece of paper. He unfolded it, sliding his fingers over the well worn creases and read the shaky script.

 _Dearest Tom_

 _Hopefully you are reading this at home, having returned from Hogwarts for the last time. These are my last words to you Tom. I hope you have found it in your heart to forgive me, and more importantly, your father, for not telling you about my illness sooner. It was my selfishness and nothing else. I wanted my last memoires of you to be that brilliantly joyful smile of yours. Look after your father. He has always tried to be the stern father figure to you, but beneath all that he has a tenderness that he rarely shows. I have always told him that it is not a sign of weakness, so make sure you remind him of that._

 _There are so many things I want to ask, so many things I want to know. I wonder if you still dream of travelling to see the rest of the wizarding world? Fantastic beasts and long hidden cultures of our people. You were always a bright boy and I'm sure you have grown to be an intelligent young man. Whether you still held onto your childhood dreams or have moved onto new ones, remember that the world is at your fingertips. Be confident, be brave, whatever path you choose, I am sure you will excel in it._

 _Have you found love? I hope you don't mind me asking you that, or do you still blush at such questions? Tom, find someone to cherish for the rest of your life, it is the most important advice I can give. My childhood was a miserable one, and happiness something I never thought I'd have. The meeting between your father and I was one mired in tragedy, with both our families having perished. I knew him of course, he was the most handsome boy in the village. I had harboured an infatuation over him for a long time, but I never truly believed anything would come out of it. Over our shared wounds, we developed something akin to a friendship. Before then he was arrogant, and looking back, not exactly a pleasant man, but his brush with death had humbled him somewhat._

 _When he asked me to marry him, I wondered if I was dreaming. It was the happiest I had ever been in my life, and I thought feeling more joy than I did at that moment was an impossibility. That was before you Tom. Oh Tom, having a child is the most wonderful thing you can imagine! The love I felt when I first held you in my arms is impossible to describe. I wanted everything for you and I would have done anything to protect you. Watching you grow brought both me and your father such blissful happiness. I hope that there will be a time in your life when you understand what I felt that day, and every day until this moment._

 _I wish more than anything that I could leave my final message to you at that, but there is more I must tell. When your letter from Hogwarts arrived I went through a flurry of emotions. Being a witch had brought me nothing but misery and I had shied away from all things magical ever since I married your father. I was also terrified of his reaction. Your father was shocked, of course, but eventually he accepted it. I also realised that by going to Hogwarts, you would learn about the wizarding world in a way I never had a chance to do. To you, magic would mean wonder, not pain. Your excitement was infectious, and I thought everything would be fine._

 _Then the Professor arrived. Thinking you were Muggleborn, Professor Albus Dumbledore, came to explain to us about the wizarding world. When I saw him, I shuddered, without knowing why. I felt apprehensive, despite his kind demeanour. Then I felt a terror grip me in a way I had not felt for over a decade. It took every ounce of strength I had to prevent myself from picking you up and running for our lives._

 _I have kept this to myself, not even your father knows. I have kept this from you until now, until the moment you leave Hogwarts, when you will no longer be learning from him. I have had years of sleepless nights wondering if this is something I should tell you, or take with me to the grave. I have always distanced myself from wizarding politics and the talk of the war in Europe, but I realise you do not have that luxury. That world is one that you are now a part of._

 _Albus Dumbledore was there the night my father and brother were killed. He was there in the house standing besides the King of Crows himself. The Professor's hand is the one that murdered your grandfather. The shape of his face and the sound of his voice were different but I could tell it was him. Albus Dumbledore destroyed my world, and my prison, that day and I remember everything about him. The movement of his hands as he spoke and the little curious tilt of the neck he had when he studied me, and then you. I remembered the rhythm and lilt of his voice. It was the same person, I am sure of it._

 _He never recognised me, of course. He couldn't associate the bone thin, raggedy girl to the healthy wife of a Muggle. I spent the next few years trying to discover all I could about the man, but I could never find anyone with a bad thing to say about him. He is clever and a brilliant member of the school's teaching staff, and had never shown any inclination for politics and certainly had no association with the madman named Grindelwald and his extreme views._

 _But I am sure of it. Albus Dumbledore is working with Gellert Grindelwald, the one that calls himself the King of Crows. I do not know why he came to Little Hangleton that day. All I know is that he came to our house and killed my family for a ring. I do not know much about it, but it was something my father cherished. It supposedly had something to do with a family we were descended from._

 _Keep this information close to you, it will be dangerous if he finds out I was the child he spared that day. If he is working with Grindelwald, he will be ruthless in trying to keep that fact hidden. I am not telling you this so that you can unmask him and bring him to justice, I only want you to be safe. I fear for your future. Please Tom, please be careful._

 _Tom, I am proud of you and I will always be watching over you. Be happy and wonderful and hold your head high. My son, I love you._

 _Merope Riddle_

 **End of Year 4**

* * *

The doors opened automatically as he approached. If he glanced sideways and slightly down, he would have caught sight of a house elf, but of course he didn't. Such creatures were beneath him. His clipped footsteps echoed in the corridor. He gave a cursory glance at the paintings that decorated the place. They all eyed him curiously and more than a few seemed suspicious as well. But he ignored them and carried on.

The huge wooden doors, with beautiful decorations carved into it, opened as he approached and the silence was broken. Inane chattering and the sound of clinking glasses. It took him only a second to find his target, he was surrounded by the largest crowd. He nodded politely and murmured greetings to the wizards and witches he passed, but did not stop.

"Ah, Lucius. I did not expect you here. Come, have a glass of champaign." the crowd parted and the host of the evening greeted him.

"Herr Barschüler." Lucius gave a polite nod. "I was wondering if we could speak. Privately."

Barschüler raised his eyebrow. Then he let out a laugh. "Ah, the ever toiling Lucius Malfoy. I have never seen someone throw himself into political workings with such enthusiasm while at the same time insisting he never wishes to become a politician!"

The crowd tittered sycophantically and Lucius Malfoy returned a mildly entertained smile. Once again he brushed away the thought of how much the man annoyed him. Oh he had his uses. He was sharp and more than a little influential, evidenced by the current assemblage, but he was also loud and brash, an unfortunate symptom of his youth. He was young, far to young, to be taken seriously. But in this one instance, youth was perhaps more important than respectability.

"Lucius, how is Narcissa?" Lucius turned towards the speaker, Brünhild Barschüler, the rather empty-headed wife of the man he had come to speak to. "You should have brought her with you! It would have spared me the dreadfully boring talk of politics!"

As if he would say anything of importance in front of her. Lucius just hoped Athalwolf Barschüler had remembered to do the same. "Next time Frau Barschüler, I promise. She, of course, is very eager to see you again. I remember, she promised to take you shopping in London, has she not?"

The witch giggled, clapping her hands in delight. Lucius shuddered internally, as he imagined the frosty glare he would receive from his wife when he told her about this. However, it was necessary to keep them happy.

Potter's assault on his Muggle relatives had far reaching consequences that he couldn't possibly begin to divine right now. What he did know was that if they wanted to utilise this chance, they had to move quickly. Albus Dumbledore, despite the rumours that his daughter had been somehow injured during the incident, would most likely be doing the same.

Albus Dumbledore had started meddling in politics long before Lucius was even born. To most of the world's population, he was a brilliant wizard and a former teacher that held an important, while somewhat minor, post in the British Ministry. But to his trained eye, Lucius could see that the sly old wizard had a stranglehold on every aspect of British and European politics, perhaps even further afield. Like Dumbledore, Lucius himself was never one to revel in the spotlight. He had never been in a position where he openly opposed the elderly wizard. Doing so would have been social suicide, given that Albus Dumbledore had been the only wizard to effectively lead an offensive campaign against Grindelwald.

But now, enough time had passed. Dumbledore was no longer Merlin in everybody's eyes, Lucius had made sure of that. He had spent the last decade planting whispers in people's minds about Dumbledore's failings, both true and imaginary. Now it was finally time to pull him off the throne. Lucius had found Athalwolf Barschüler a few years ago openly agreeing with such sentiments. It took him a while to realise the potential usefulness of such an ally. Whoever would stand to oppose Dumbledore in the political arena would have to be young. In any other situation, Lucius would immediately dismiss Barschüler as far _too_ _young_ , but against Dumbledore, possibly one of the oldest wizards currently alive, he was a striking contrast and that would work for them. The young Germanic wizard had enough charisma to overshadow his brashness and arrogance, and with Lucius moulding him slowly over the years, he would act exactly as Lucius intended him to.

Potter's Muggle attack was one in a long line of incidents that unsettled him. Lucius, like his father before him, had not involved himself in the business with Grindelwald. He had no love of Muggles, that was immediately clear to anyone who had spent a little time with him, but Grindelwald's ambition was a century too late. There were far too many of them now. To wage war against the Muggles while also trying to fend off those trying to protect the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and those that advocate the rights of Muggles and Muggle-borns, was an impossible task. Now that the Krähenkönigs Zeugen were openly active again, he was beginning to fear for another war. While previously, it was merely self preservation that kept him away, now he had something else to protect. He was married and had a son. He would do anything to protect those two.

On the surface, Dumbledore was an ideal candidate to lead the wizarding world during these times. However, the more Lucius looked into him, he found some inexplicable inconsistencies about the man. He appeared benevolent, spouting nonsense that Muggles and wizardkind could become friends, but in the laws he influenced into passing or being dropped, there was evidence that Dumbledore might not be entirely as he seemed. It was, of course, all but impossible to detect, mired in archaic words of legalese and for the fact that hardly anyone in a position to decipher them knew anything about the Muggle world.

Lucius Malfoy didn't have instincts, he planned ahead, reviewing every fact and predicting possibilities before taking a single step, but Dumbledore's true intentions had always eluded him. He reluctantly turned to his instincts then, and they always started by screaming at him, not to get involved with Dumbledore. He was dangerous and meddling in the elder wizard's plans were only going to get him hurt. But there was also a whisper telling him that Dumbledore could not be left to lead the wizarding world. He did not know exactly why, but he felt it when he first stepped into politics and it was even stronger now that he was a father.

"What is it, Lucius." Barschüler said, his impatience showing now that they were alone. "Why have you come here?"

Lucius carefully schooled his expression to a confident smile. "It is time. It is time to finally make our move."

* * *

 **A/N**

Fourth year is ovvvveeerrrrr! Wooooo~~~! =D

Dear Merlin, that was a hard chapter to write. I had to carefully consider everything and how it would connect to the next year. Spent the last few days 'editing', and I think I've added about 2000 words since my first draft. Sorry for leaving so many questions unanswered, stuff like Corinne's identity will be revealed in the next 'book'! But instead you got a few unexpected revelation?

Alright, regular readers. You know the drill. I seem to have suddenly received a load of new subscribers for some reason (maybe getting over 100 reviews encourages people to click on my story?), and I'm sorry to do this just as you've discovered my story, but it's time for my break! First of all, since I've posted 3 weeks worth of stuff within a week so I'm out of stuff to post and secondly I normally have a little break when I finish a year. I need some time to plan out everything that's going to happen and write some chapters in advance so I don't create plot holes or miss something out. I honestly don't know when I'll start updating again. I've gotten to the part where things really start to happen, so it takes a lot more careful planning than the previous 'books'. I want to take at least a week off without even _thinking_ about the story, but after that I'll write whenever I can find the time. I also have something going on between mid October and mid November so I might not be able to write much then. If you're interested I'll try to keep my progress updated in my profile.

Thank you so much to all the reviewers, favouriters and followers! I really hope you enjoyed the chapter, and the whole year as well. If you have a chance, please review! It doesn't need to be an essay (but you're welcome to =p), it doesn't even need to be a complete sentence! You can just say, "good", "bad", or "ugl- no! alright", if you want! But tell me what you thought! I need to store reviews so I can survive the lean winter months... =p

Okay now some responses to some of the reviews.

First of all, M, mysterious guest reviewer M. Yeah, it's a bit annoying sometimes, but he was in loooovvveee. And as a reader I think it's easier to tell when something's definitely off and it's not exactly like he was going into the Department of Mysteries to save his godfather from Voldemort, was it? All he was expecting were a few Muggles. As for the Horcuxedness, well, Harry is a Parselmouth, so make of it what you will. And your other questions, I think this chapter probably answered them!

Oh and another reviewer left me a comment about the class/houses thing, which I clarified with a PM. But there's something I wanted to mention here, incredibly late, because no one commented on it during the first year. Well the whole, classes and houses being different thing. I did this because I wanted Riddle to do the whole 4 house unity thing, but also that's how it worked at my old school. We had houses, but it was something separate from the classes, which was like my story and was just a mix. I even named a character with the name of my old house, 50 points if you can guess. =p and actually thinking about it now, one of the houses shares a name with one of the Harry Potter actors...

Oh, and a seemingly random question to end my notes. Are any of you fans of Agatha Christie? 100 points if you can- no actually. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise... seriously don't. Especially not in the reviews... PM me if you know and you're dying to tell me that you do...


	40. Year 5 - Chapter 1

**Year 5**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Consequences**

"Harry Potter."

There was a pause then a grunt, one full of irritation and impatience. "Your _full_ name Mr. Potter."

Harry finally raised his head away from the wood grain patterns of the table and looked up at his questioner. Harry was confused for a moment, that was his name, wasn't it? And however much he wished he was someone else for the past few weeks, it was the name he was stuck with. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Harry Potter, the boy who used an Unforgivable Curse to attack his aunt and uncle. Harry Potter, the boy who had been tricked by Grindelwald, making Professor Riddle pay the price.

The man in front of him cleared his throat and Harry shook away his thoughts. "That is my name..."

"Your _full_ name. Harry _James_ Potter." Rufus Scrimgeour tapped his fingers against the table and glared at Harry.

Harry just glared back. "If you know my _full_ name, why do I need to say it?"

Scrimgeour's jaw clenched and he let out a slow sigh, eyeing the other person in the room. A very timid looking witch only a few years older than Harry. He waved his hand towards a quill that was hovering an inch above a sheet of parchment. "It is protocol. We require you to give your full name before the questioning can begin."

"Fine." Harry muttered. "Harry _James_ Potter."

The quill lowered onto the parchment and started scribbling his name. Scrimgeour nodded in satisfaction then recited his own name, followed by the current time and date. "Now Mr. Potter, due to the… incident with your relatives, we find ourselves in a difficult position. You are currently without a guardian so I have asked Miss Thynn from the Wizengamot Administration Services to make sure all the questioning that goes on in this room is… above board. Do you consent to the questioning?"

Harry glanced at Miss Thynn, who stopped biting her nails when she realised they were staring at her. She tried to give Harry a nervous smile, but everything about her body language told him that she absolutely did not want to be there and that the whole thing was completely over her head. She looked vaguely familiar, perhaps she had been at Hogwarts during Harry's second or third year. If that was true, it really meant that she had only recently started working for the Ministry. To be in a room with the Head of the Auror Office while Harry Potter was interrogated concerning the use of an Unforgivable against his Muggle relatives was probably not in her job description.

"If I don't? Consent, I mean." Harry turned back to the Auror.

Scrimgeour narrowed his eyes at him. "Is there a problem with the current situation?"

Harry hesitated, "I'd… rather have someone I'm more familiar with… Someone like… Professor McGonagall. She's been cleared of any wrongdoing, hasn't she? She's not working with Hea- Riddle..."

Professor McGonagall had been questioned thoroughly for several weeks by various Aurors but in the end they could not find any evidence that she had colluded with Riddle in any nefarious acts. She had managed to keep her job as acting (as she whispered the word once in Harry's presence, adamant that her husband would return) Headmistress of Hogwarts.

"Minerva McGonagall may have been legally cleared, but I still do not completely trust her." Scrimgeour stated.

Harry had expected this, the Professor had said pretty much the same thing when she last visited Harry. "Then… Sirius Black… he's an Auror, what if he-"

"Sirius Black..." Scrimgeour's hand tightened into a fist. "...is too close to you. I do not believe he can objectively question you. He has also had ties to Riddle, not to mention the fact that he allowed him to escape from the Durmstrang grounds."

"Then what ab-" but Harry was quickly interrupted.

"Remus Lupin and Rubeus Hagrid are both having their statements checked. I assure you, Mr. Potter, McGonagall had given us a list of people who could act as your temporary guardians, but each name was considered and crossed off as unsuitable." Scrimgeour said impatiently. "If you are unhappy with the arrangements, you can return to St. Mungo's until someone else is available."

Harry flinched at that and Scrimgeour had a brief look of triumph. Harry had spent the last few weeks in a room at the wizarding hospital and had grown to absolutely detest the place. It wasn't because of his injuries, even a 9-iron wielded by a heavy and terrified man wasn't enough to leave lasting injuries when you had magic to heal you. It was the isolation that slowly started getting to him.

Professor McGonagall had been the only person allowed to visit him and even that was only once or twice a week if he was lucky. There was also an Auror always present during these times so it was impossible to ask the hundreds of questions that were whirling around Harry's mind. Harry mostly listened to her as she explained the situation and after she left he spent hours thinking back on the conversation, looking for hidden meanings behind her words. But there was nothing. Professor Riddle was still missing, Kendra Dumbledore was still comatose and there was no word on the search for Corinne Lansquenet. It was everything he probably could have gotten from the Auror that was stationed in front of the door to his room, if he had asked nicely enough.

One thing he was allowed to do was write letters to his friends, which the Professor took and posted for him, obviously after the Auror had checked for sensitive information, not that there was much point in doing so. Professor Riddle had warned him not to reveal anything to his friends and so there wasn't much he could write. He might have been able to enjoy keeping in touch had the incident been kept quiet, but any hopes of that happening were crushed the first time he woke from a restless sleep within the sterile room of the hospital. Professor McGonagall had arrived holding a copy of the Daily Prophet, with the headlines blaring about Harry's use of dark magic against Muggles.

Hermione had written back the quickest, demanding an explanation that he couldn't give. Most other letters that came back were similar, full of disbelief about what Harry had done. At what Professor Riddle had done. There were no light-hearted messages about how they were spending their summer or talks of the fact that Cedric Diggory had been the one to win the Triwizard Tournament. It had been an extraordinary feat for the young Hufflepuff, but coverage of the event had been pushed aside as every single headline in the wizarding media talked of Harry's attack and Riddle's flight. Harry soon stopped writing to them and only Hermione kept up the correspondence and Harry was grateful, even though she was sending him quite a lot of summer homework. He probably spent more time on those than he had ever done, but there was nothing else to do. Ron had yet to reply to his first letter.

"Ron..." Harry muttered out loud. Then he thought of the Weasleys. They had always been kind to him, like a family. More so than the Dursleys ever were. He wondered if Mr. Weasley could be here instead of this Thynn person. He worked for the Ministry, so it wouldn't even take that long to get him here. Harry opened his mouth to suggest it, then stopped. He wasn't sure if they would have been told the truth of the matter by Professor McGonagall. And if she hadn't told them… he didn't think he would be able to stand it if he saw disappointment in his face. "No… never mind..."

"So…?" Scrimgeour asked again.

"I… it's fine. Ask whatever you want." Harry sighed in weary defeat.

Scrimgeour pushed the parchment towards Harry, "Then I require your signature. Yours too Miss Thynn."

When the Auror held the parchment again, he glanced at the signatures and nodded. "Very well. We may begin. Now can y-"

There was muffled shouting coming from outside the room. The door clattered then there was a heavy thud. Scrimgeour frowned and stood up, heading for the door. It crashed open before he could reach it. Sirius Black, looking scruffy and haggard, stepped inside. "Harry!"

"Black!" Scrimgeour stepped in front of Sirius to block him from approaching Harry. "I told you to stay away."

"And I told you to tell me when Harry was being questioned." Sirius' reply was quick and defiant.

Scrimgeour's eyes seemed to bulge out. His voice came out in a dangerous whisper, "Do not forget who you work for Black."

But Sirius didn't back down. "What the hell do you think you're doing Scrimgeour? Getting this… girl barely out of school to sit in just so you can question him? The Head of the Auror Office, questioning a boy for underage magic?"

"For illegal use of dark curses." Scrimgeour hissed in reply. "And who else can I leave to question him? Who can I trust not to let information leak to the press or Dumbledore or even _Riddle_."

The accusation was clear, but Sirius just shook his head. "I am not working for Riddle and I certainly don't want anything to get to the Prophet or Dumbledore. I just want to be here for Harry, that's all. Let me be here for this."

"No." the Head Auror said softly. "Now get out."

Sirius stared at him, his cheeks slowly growing red with anger. He gritted his teeth and spat out, "Fine. Harry, I'll just be outside. Call-"

"No. I mean get out of my department. You no longer have a job here. Hand in your- Sit down and keep quiet, Mr. Potter! You are in enough trouble as it is!" Scrimgeour turned and roared at Harry when he stood to protest. He turned back to the stunned looking Sirius and continued in a low whisper. "I am _tired_ of your insubordination and disrespect. Pursing your own leads, disregarding direct orders and I still haven't forgotten the number of times you disappeared without giving adequate reasons in past years. You are talented, I'll give you that, then you supposedly let Riddle get the better of you and allow him to escape after almost murdering someone. I see no reason to keep you here. Now get out, or I'll have someone escort you out."

Sirius glared at the man he no longer worked for. He gave Harry a softer look, trying to tell him that it wasn't his fault. Then without another word he stepped out of the room. Harry turned to the Head Auror and began to speak quickly, "Please! It's not… he… you can't just fire him because-"

"Make sure he leaves." Scrimgeour spoke loudly to someone standing outside the door. "And make sure we are not interrupted again."

He sat back down opposite Harry and gave a curt nod to the trembling witch that Harry had completely forgotten about. Harry repeated his pleading to give Sirius his job back but Scrimgeour silenced him with a raised hand. With a stony face he started to question Harry again, about the day of the final Triwizard task.

Harry stared at his own clenched fists on top of the table as hot guilt pulsed through his mind again. His eyes stung and without looking up he slowly began to recite the events of that day. A very carefully rehearsed version of events that he and McGonagall had come up with in the small window of opportunity they were allowed. The first time they had arrived at St. Mungo's, before the Healers could get to him he was left alone with the Professor while the Aurors scoured the building in case Tom Riddle came to finish off Kendra Dumbledore. During that brief time they had worked out what needed to be said when the inevitable questioning began.

"I… wanted to go… talk to them. My aunt and uncle." Harry said in a scratchy voice, still not meeting his questioner's eyes. "Professor Riddle… Tom Riddle insisted I should. I didn't know why, I thought it was because we didn't leave on the best of terms last summer. He kept telling me all year that I should speak to them before this summer..."

"I see… so he didn't explicitly order or force you to do anything?" the Auror asked.

"No. I never suspected him of being evil." and he still didn't.

"Why did you choose that day to confront your relatives? With the Portkey, you could have visited at any time, why on the day of one of the most anticipated events of the year?" Scrimgeour asked, voice thick with suspicion.

Harry shook his head, "I... I can't remember. I just felt… I really had to go that day. I can't explain it..."

Harry risked a glance and the Auror was staring at him through narrow eyes. He clearly didn't believe Harry. "In the hospital, you told a few of my Aurors that you do not remember anything that had happened after arriving at Four Privet Drive. Is this still the case?"

"I… Yes. I don't remember." Harry lowered his head to stare at the table again.

Harry could feel the man's silent scrutiny as he waited for more. When Harry didn't speak Scrimgeour sighed with impatience. Harry heard the shuffling of parchment, "This is not the first time you have been involved in an incident with your relatives. Two years ago, members of the Magical Reversal Squad had to be dispatched to Four Privet Drive because of magic you used on a... Marge Dursley. Your aunt, I believe?"

"That was an accident!" Harry's head shot up. "I didn't mean to do that!"

"An accident, yes. Possibly. But did you truly not intend for something like that to happen?" the Auror asked. "Was there no part of you that wished to see her harmed?"

"I..." Harry swallowed nervously. He had in fact very much desired for Aunt Marge to shut her fat mouth.

"As for the Cruciatus Curse… It is not something that can be done by accident." Scrimgeour said in a low voice. "There has to be hate behind it. True hate, and a strong desire to inflict unimaginable pain on someone."

Harry's stomach churned. Professor Riddle had advised him to go into detail about the… strained relationship between him and the Dursleys, to give them a plausible reason for his actions. One that Tom Riddle could have used to manipulate Harry into attacking them, at least, that's what they were hoping the Ministry would think. Otherwise, he would just be a psychotic teenager who wanted to torture his relatives. He definitely hated them, but enough to see them badly hurt? No, he didn't hate them that much… How much would he have to tell for the two people in the room to believe him?

Harry licked his lips and opened his mouth to speak, when a sharp knocking on the door interrupted them again. He sighed in relief for the brief respite as Scrimgeour angrily called out. An Auror poked her head inside and said timidly, "Erm… Albus Dumbledore is here-"

"Tell him to pis-" the old Auror gathered himself and took in a deep breath. "Tell him I'm busy."

The young Auror looked unsure, but nodded all the same. But before she could close the door a voice rang out into the room, "Rufus, I think you will want to hear what I have to say."

With that Albus Dumbledore stepped inside. He caught Harry's eyes for half a second before the boy remembered what Professor Riddle had told him and lowered his gaze at the table again. Scrimgeour bit out through gritted teeth, "What do you want Dumbledore? You have no business here."

"Has he said much?" Dumbledore ignored the question and asked mildly.

Scrimgeour made a growling noise from the back of his throat, "Not enough. It would go a lot quicker if people stopped interrupting us."

"Well, I would advise you to hurry it up and let the boy go." Harry raised his head at that comment. Dumbledore was looking at his fellow Ministry worker with an impassive expression.

"You do not work in law enforcement." Scrimgeour let out an incredulous snort at Dumbledore's words. "It's not up to you."

"Oh, of course. I completely agree. But any… unfair treatment of the boy is liable to get you an early retirement." Dumbledore said, casting a glance at Miss Thynn, who flinched.

Scrimgeour stiffened. "...Are you threatening me?"

"Certainly not." Dumbledore looked slightly amused at the idea. "I hav-"

"You may have have half the Ministry wrapped around your little fingers, but this is my department!" the Auror snarled in a low voice. "Now GET OUT!"

Dumbledore wordlessly took something out of his robes and dropped it onto the table. Scrimgeour frowned, "What is this…?"

Harry's eyes were drawn to the photo and he felt his heart stop. Even though it was upside down from where he was sitting, he recognised it as the cupboard he had spent eleven years of his life sleeping in. He could also read the headline, 'HARRY POTTER, DEFEATER OF GRINDELWALD, SAVIOUR OF THE WIZARDING WORLD, ABUSED BY MUGGLES'.

Scrimgeour snatched up the copy of the Daily Prophet and ripped open the pages. His eyes darted side to side as he quickly read through the article, his face growing angrier with each passing second. Dumbledore cleared his throat, "I do not know how much truth there is in the article, but I suspect it is not a complete fabrication… Especially given Mr. Potter's current reaction."

Harry startled as he realised Dumbledore was staring at him and quickly lowered his pale face again. How did they find out? He had been dreading revealing anything to even just one person, but now everyone would know.

"They've bloody printed the address!" Scrimgeour shouted in a panic. " _Although I have no prejudice against Muggles, knowing how they treated Harry Potter all his life, I dare say they deserve everything they got and more._ _Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey is the address was where Harry Potter had to-_ Damn it all! There will be people out for the Dursleys' blood!"

"Ah, yes." Dumbledore said, showing the barest amount of concern. "I think it would be prudent to offer them some sort of protection, don't you agree?"

He threw the paper down onto the table and rounded up against the elderly wizard. "How did you find out? Who told you?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "A friend working for the Prophet told me what they were planning on publishing. I only found out a few minutes ago myself. He waited until it was already being distributed, he was under the impression had I found out earlier, the Ministry would suppress the article."

"Damn it..." Scrimgeour muttered.

"I'm sorry if I am misunderstanding you, but are you saying you have already known about this?" Dumbledore asked.

Scrimgeour flinched briefly, but his face steeled into a grimace. "Certain… theories have come up during the investigation, but there was nothing concrete. The only fact was that the Cruciatus Curse was used against them. It's considered an Unforgivable Curse for a reason. Not to mention all the other damage done to the property."

"So… you thought if word of it got out, it might sway certain parties to be lenient towards Mr. Potter." Dumbledore arched an eyebrow. "And hamper your… admirable effort to uphold the letter of the law."

A slight red tinge formed on the Auror's cheeks. "I don't have time for this…"

Then he turned and stalked out of the room, barking out orders for a team to be sent to the Dursleys. Harry heard footsteps and felt a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Harry, they will never be able to lay a hand on you ever again."

Harry wanted to recoil at the touch. It wasn't just fear, like he had been struggling with for the past year, there was an itching at the back of his mind that screamed at him not to trust this man. He resisted the urge to throw his hand off and swear profanities at him, and firmly planted his shaking fists between his thighs and glared at the wooden table. The hand lifted when the door slammed open and Scrimgeour stomped into the room. "I need to finish questioning Potter."

He obviously wanted Albus Dumbledore out of here when that happened, but the old wizard looked back with an infuriatingly calm expression. "Would you mind terribly if I stayed? I'm sure the Minister will hear about the article soon and I'd like to be able to tell him that Harry was treated well, by our Ministry at least."

"...Fine, you may stay." the Auror's sour expression turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter, is there any truth in the article?"

"I..I don't know what's in the article." Harry mumbled quietly.

Scrimgeour turned the paper and pointed at the large photo covering almost all of the front page. "Did your relatives force you to sleep in the cupboard?"

Harry's mouth felt dry and he had trouble trying to speak. He finally managed a barely audible whisper, "Only until I was eleven..."

There was a small gasp from the young witch sitting at the end of the table, but everyone else fell silent. Scrimgeour eventually asked, "Is that why you… attacked them? For revenge?"

"No. I don't… know. I don't remember." Harry raised his head slightly and faced his questioner.

The Head Auror looked irritated. But it was Albus Dumbledore who spoke, "I think it is obvious what has happened. The Healers have said that Harry was hit with a particularly powerful Confundus Charm. Whatever Riddles motives for doing so were, it caused Harry to return to his relatives and… confront them about the abuse. In the confusion Harry ended up attacking them with an uncharacteristic viscousness, perhaps due to all he had witnessed and experienced while with the Aurors last year.

"He could barely string two words together when he was questioned that day." Scrimgeour scoffed. "It seems unlikely he could have used the Cruciatus Curse in that state."

"Unlikely, but not impossible." Dumbledore insisted calmly.

Then began the excruciating process of dragging information of life with the Dursleys out of Harry Potter. Harry replied in a slow, lifeless voice, confirming or denying as the man tried to assess the truth in the facts printed in the newspaper.

It was actually surprising how much detail the reporter had managed to get. Had someone forced it out of the Dursleys, or had someone known about it before? Briefly he wondered if Professor Riddle had been the mysterious source of information, but he immediately dismissed the idea. If Professor Riddle had known about it, he probably would have done something earlier. When Harry returned from the summer for his fourth year at Hogwarts, turning up skinny and withdrawn, he had visited his Aunt and Uncle soon after to have a 'word' with them. Knowing the Headmaster's sudden bouts of temper, he was sure it wouldn't have been entirely civil.

The only other person he had come anywhere close to telling was Corinne and that had only been the little stuff, like the chores or refusing to take him with them on holidays. He had considered revealing a little more on one or two occasions, but he had been too embarrassed to tell her about the rest, including his sleeping arrangements for the first ten years of his life at Privet Drive.

Harry shook his head slightly and stared at Scrimgeour with his eyes wide, wondering if he had just misheard the man. The Auror repeated the question and Harry's mouth went dry and his voice went slightly high and frantic, "No! I- that never happened! They never beat me or anything like that!"

"I… see..." the man didn't look entirely convinced.

"They can't just print lies like that!" Harry reached for the paper and flicked it open with shaking hands. "And… they can't just print things like this anyway! It's supposed to be private!"

"I will see what I can do about it, although I suspect plenty of people would have already seen it." Scrimgeour said dismissively. The next question came quickly and suddenly, "Do you know the whereabouts of Tom Riddle?"

"What? No." Harry said quickly and he stared the man down, daring him to contradict him.

"He never mentioned somewhere where he might hide? Someone he might turn to, to help him disappear?" the Auror asked insistently.

"No. He was a professor. We never really talked about much… apart from school stuff." Harry replied steadily.

"Very well, I think that is sufficient for now." Scrimgeour declared, looking somewhat dissatisfied, but reluctant to press him further, especially in front of Dumbledore.

"I can leave then? Return to Hogwarts?" Harry practically leapt off the chair.

"I really do think he needs a proper home to care for him, not a school." Dumbledore voiced his objection.

"Well, it's not up to you, is it?" Scrimgeour said with a slight smirk. He turned to the witch, who looked just a relieved as Harry that the whole thing was over. "Miss Thynn, I believe the agreement was for Harry to return to Hogwarts?"

"Y..y..y..yes" she managed to stutter, darting her glance between the two intimidating wizards standing in the room.

"I think Harry deserves a chance to choose, rather than everything being decided for him." Dumbledore said with uncharacteristic kindness. "Harry, do you truly wish to return to Hogwarts? There is a danger of Riddle returning there. He undoubtedly knows of a few ways to sneak inside, he has been Headmaster for a while..."

"I trust Headmistress McGonagall." Harry said simply.

Dumbledore's blue eyes flashed briefly in annoyance, then he gave the room a curt nod before leaving. Scrimgeour looked satisfied at the retreating figure and muttered quietly, "Hmph, you can't have everything Dumbledore... Well Potter, I'll have someone escort you to Hogsmeade. I'll owl ahead so McGonagall can meet you there."

* * *

The moment he had arrived at Hogwarts, after Professor McGonagall had told him all his belongings had been moved to his room, he thanked her then tore across the warm summer air and to the cottage in the grounds. As much as he respected Minerva McGonagall, she was still just a professor and his head of house. Hagrid, and Remus especially, were more than that, they were his friends. He knocked on the door and opened it when a voice told him to come in and within a second he realised that they had already seen the article printed in the Prophet.

Hagrid immediately wrapped him in a bone crushing hug, sobbing uncontrollably, while Remus watched, his lips thin in anger. Not at Harry, at least Harry hoped it wasn't directed towards him, he was angry at the Dursleys for the way they treated Harry, as well as himself for allowing it to happen.

They questioned him about the article, but with a lot more delicacy than Scrimgeour had managed. Harry hated having to repeat the same answers he had given just few hours ago, but he knew that these two were asking because they cared, not because they wanted to see him thrown in prison.

They settled into silence after Harry assured them several times that they had never beaten him (Remus looked as if he was going to 'accidentally' forget to take his Wolfsbane potion while strolling down Privet Drive) and sipped the strong tea that Hagrid had made.

"Have you heard from Professor Riddle?" Harry asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He knew that these two would have been told the truth.

Remus gave him a warning look, "Yes, we all know what happened, but don't get in the habit out saying things like that aloud. You never know when someone might be listening… As for your question, no we haven't heard from him. The Ministry is watching us closely. Professor Riddle knows this and he won't risk contacting us."

"Right..." Harry nodded. It was the same thing Professor McGonagall had said, after shushing him, on their way here. "Remus… have you heard from Sirius?"

Remus frowned. "Sirius? No, why? Actually, he said that he was going to see you when we heard you were taken to the Ministry..."

"Yeah… he was there..." Harry said. "He… got fired."

"Damn..." Remus shook his head. He then quickly turned to Harry and stared at him unblinkingly, "It's not your fault. You know that right? We were honestly surprised it hadn't happened sooner, he was too close to the Headmaster, they wouldn't have let him keep his job."

Harry pressed his lips together and just nodded. He didn't say what he was thinking, if he hadn't taken the Portkey on the day of the third task, none of this would have happened.

"Bloody idiots, the lot of them..." Hagrid muttered angrily. "Don't they realise it's Grindelwald? That it's always been the King of Crows playing puppeteer from the shadows?"

Harry's face stiffened and he quickly looked down at the cake he was nibbling on. Remus growled at Hagrid, who muttered a quick apology to the boy. Harry left soon afterwards, not really sure if he was feeling better or worse, but he was tired and he dragged himself up Gryffindor Tower and collapsed onto his bed. Even so, it took a while for him to drift to sleep. Without his other housemates, without the snoring, the rustling of sheets and the soft sleepy murmurings, the room felt too empty.

* * *

Harry glided through the halls of Hogwarts castle like a ghost. No. In fact, even ghosts didn't realise the boy was there. Ghosts glowed dimly, looking very visible in the dark corridors, but Harry was completely invisible under the cloak he had over himself.

At first, Harry thought that he didn't want to see the cloak ever again. The other times he had worn an invisibility cloak, he was attacked by Grindelwald's followers and he himself had attacked the Dursleys. There was that one occasion when he sneaked onto the Beauxbatons carriage with Corinne by his side, but even that memory was tainted by the fact he had followed the same path on his way to torture his aunt and uncle.

But then he longed for the freedom to wander the castle without the stares of the portraits or the whispers of the ghosts following him. He had spent the first few days in the dormitory, only wandering down to the common room for his meals that house elves were kind enough to bring for him, eating out of habit rather than hunger. It was still the middle of summer holidays and the castle was mostly empty of people, Professor McGonagall was here as was Filch the caretaker and outside in the grounds Remus and Hagrid were staying in the little cottage.

He hadn't told anyone about the invisibility cloak. Professor Riddle hadn't mentioned it to Professor McGonagall when he was explaining what had happened, he either hadn't seen it from his memories or there hadn't been enough time to tell her. Harry probably would have told them if they asked how he managed to sneak into the Beauxbatons carriage, but none of them did. It was honestly a minor detail that really didn't matter considering everything else. He also thought that if he revealed it's existence, he would lose the freedom he'd been enjoying. He had wondered briefly if it could somehow be used to find Corinne, who had lent it to him, but he talked himself out of it. He was told that they were still searching for her, a visit to her house in France had turned up nothing.

Right now Corinne Lansquenet's whereabouts was possibly the one question he wanted answered most of all. He had no idea if she was friend or foe, but he couldn't deny he longed for her. Over the course of a year, she had found a small place in his heart, one that Harry would protect until there was undeniable proof that all her actions had been to harm him. He argued back and forth with himself, but right now he was convinced that Corinne had been taken by the enemy. That they had forced her to write those letters to lure him out. To Harry, the invisibility cloak he held was proof. He knew how rare and valuable these things were and Harry was sure there would have been other more simpler ways to get him out if that had been the intention.

He thought back to the stories that Remus and Sirius had told him, about his father and his own invisibility cloak. It brought a little smile to his face, but it seemed unlikely that he would follow in James Potter's footsteps, pulling pranks and sneaking out after curfew. He was more likely to use it to keep a low profile and enjoy the illusion of privacy. The summer holidays were drawing to a close and he dreaded the fact that the castle was soon going to be packed with students and teachers again. Everyone single one of them would have probably read what had been printed in the Prophet. He had no idea if Scrimgeour had actually tried to suppress the article or something like that, but nothing had come of it.

Harry paused when he heard the sound of angry shouting. He took his wand out of his pocket and ran forwards.

Harry stopped at the top of the stairs leading down to the entrance hall, where Professor McGonagall was screaming at someone. "-dare you! You have no right-"

"We have every right!" a girlish voice tittered. "Those two… _half breeds_ were hired only because of Riddle's influence. The Ministry will absolutely not allow them to teach when they are a clear danger to the children!"

McGonagall seemed to puff as she went bright red with indignant rage, "They are loyal to the school! This has nothing to do with… Riddle!"

Harry leaned over to catch a glimpse of the witch McGonagall was speaking to. She was a squat little witch wearing frilly pink robes, with a black bow perched on top of her toad-like head. Her unpleasant smile widened at the Headmistress' obvious distress, "Professor McGonagall… are you saying you will not agree to the Ministry's request?"

McGonagall shook with anger. But then she seemed to deflate, "Very well… I will see to the matter..."

"If it is difficult for you, I would not mind doing it myself." the witch offered with sickening glee.

McGonagall glared at her, "No thank you Miss Umbridge. If you have said all you have come to say, you may leave."

Umbridge smiled and walked towards the door. With one foot over the threshold, she turned back and addressed McGonagall. "Honestly, Professor McGonagall, I cannot understand why you are even staying at your job. Whatever you saw in that horrible man, I will never know, but after being deceived like you have been for so many years, I would be ashamed to even show my face in public. In fact, I would probably throw myself off the highest tower and be done with it..."

Professor McGonagall went pale with fury, but remained very stiff as the witch left the castle. She leaned back against the wall and let out a shuddering breath, composing herself. For a moment Harry thought that she was going to cry. But she shook herself and stepped away with a look of determination on her face. From the conversation he had overheard, he knew what was about to happen and he needed to see it. He quietly followed her under the invisibility cloak.

When they reached the little building with the paddock on the side, McGonagall gave a few sharp knocks before stepping inside. Harry didn't follow her, he crouched down under an open window and listened.

"Minerva! Would you like a cup-" Hagrid abruptly stopped talking. "What's wrong? Did something happen? Is it To-"

"No." Professor McGonagall quickly interrupted him. "I've just received word from the Ministry concerning… our staffing arrangements..."

Harry heard Remus let out a tired sigh. "Me or Hagrid?"

"Both." Professor McGonagall said sadly. Hagrid swore under his breath. Surprisingly the Headmistress didn't scold him, she didn't usually tolerate language like that in her presence. "My sentiments exactly. I am sorry Rubeus, Remus… I wish there was more I could do..."

"No Professor." Remus said. "If you refused to follow the Ministry's orders… you would have most likely lost your job alongside us."

"He's right Minerva..." Hagrid grunted and he said something more but Harry didn't hear. He had his eyes closed and was biting down on his thumb to prevent the sob from escaping his mouth. First Professor Riddle, then Sirius, now it was Remus and Hagrid paying the price for Harry's actions.

"-been meaning to drop by Sirius' place anyway." Harry finally opened his eyes and listened again. "I'll keep him company for a while."

"And you Hagrid?" Professor McGonagall asked.

There was a pause, "Not really sure if I'm honest with you… I might try and track down To-"

"Hagrid!" McGonagall hissed.

"Oh, right..." Hagrid mumbled feebly. "Er… damned Riddle… I'll track him down and rip him to shreds for… erm… making me lose my job..."

There was a snort which soon turned into a quiet laughter that spread to the three people in the room. Harry didn't feel anything like laughing. "Rubeus, as much as I think Tom would enjoy your company, they'll have eyes on you the moment you leave the gates. They'll expect you to lead them to him. Even if we had the smallest inkling of where he is, we can't risk trying to contact him..."

"Hagrid..." Remus began slowly. "Are you still good friends with the Headmistress of Beauxbatons?"

"Er… sort of..." Hagrid replied warily.

"That is a thought..." McGonagall agreed. "We haven't had much luck tracking down the Corinne girl that Harry befriended last year. It has been difficult to ask Madame Maxime about her student, while trying to keep the reason a secret. If you could possibly find out anything from her..."

Hagrid let out a grunt, clearly he wasn't pleased with the suggestion, "Alright… For Harry and Tom. The sooner we find her, the sooner this whole mess is sorted out, right?"

"Hopefully." McGonagall sighed.

There was two more echoed sighs and then silence. Remus quietly said, "Harry's going to blame himself for this when he finds out."

"He's been locking himself up in his room…" McGonagall said. "I'll do what I can, but unfortunately my hands are quite full at the moment. I have to find someone to replace you two as well now, as well as someone for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post..."

"You didn't manage to convince him to stay on then?" Hagrid asked.

"Not after what happened to his niece..." McGonagall said sadly. "He feels he was betrayed by Tom, and I... couldn't risk telling him the truth..."

His niece… Kendra Dumbledore, who was still in a coma. Harry felt a lurch in his stomach. Another person who paid the price. True, she had tried to kill him and would have undoubtedly succeeded if not for Professor Riddle's well timed aid, but even so her actions were not something he could dismiss so easily as evil. She had tried to kill him to save others, countless people if the prophecy concerning Harry was true. During the past few weeks Harry had tried to imagine himself in her shoes.

If he knew, with reasonable certainty, that someone his age, possibly someone he knew, was going to grow up to commit unimaginable atrocities, would he be able to walk away and hope for the best? Yes, he was convinced that he would be able to, but he wouldn't just hope for the best, he would do everything short of killing that person to ensure that the future doesn't turn out that way. But then again… What if by some unimaginable feat of magic, he had been thrown back in time before the King of Crows, where there was only a child that would bear that title in the future. Knowing the amount of blood that would be on his hands, including those of his parents, knowing that any of his friends could be the next casualty, could Harry be completely objective then? It was a question he couldn't answer.

Was Harry's future worth all this? He had turned the lives of so many people upside down. It had started with Professor Riddle and after that was Sirius. Now Remus and Hagrid in one fell swoop. He couldn't stand to listen any more. He turned and walked away, back to the tower.

* * *

 **A/N**

Just a quick note to thank my new beta Lord Shasta for all his help! That is all.


	41. Year 5 - Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **The Looks in Their Eyes**

As Professor McGonagall handed him the list of books that Harry would require for his fifth year, she suggested a visit to Diagon Alley with Sirius and Remus, but he refused, instead opting for the closer and less busier Hogsmeade. He still wasn't ready to face anyone, to have to repeat the story once more after doing so for Scrimgeour, Remus and Hagrid, Sirius, then finally Professor McGonagall, who looked even angrier than when she was 'freed' from Riddle's terrible Imperius Curse.

She tried, like Remus and Sirius (through the mirror), to get Harry to open up about the experience, but Harry didn't want to. They already knew everything, through the horribly revealing article in the Prophet, so why did he have to bother going through it again?

Hogsmeade, while much smaller than Diagon Alley, had its share of shops catering to the needs of Hogwarts students. They had shops that stocked the text books for Harry's fifth year as well as shops supplying inks, quills and anything else that he would need. Professor McGonagall escorted him to the gates where he was met by Remus and Sirius. Remus was much like he'd been before leaving Hogwarts, but Sirius looked worse for wear. After McGonagall left, he finally opened his mouth and Harry thought he could detect a hint of alcohol, but unlike the times he'd been caring for Harry under the guise of Major Chilmead, he didn't think it was faked.

They walked to Hogsmeade in strained silence, their last conversation through the mirror hadn't ended well. In a drunken rant, Sirius had bellowed out a list of things he wished to do to the Dursleys, perhaps as a joke to make Harry feel better, but it had only made the teenager feel more guilty. He ended up shouting at Sirius, telling him to shut up before ending the conversation.

They were left alone by the village residents, which was unsurprising since Harry had begged his Transfiguration teacher to disguise him for the trip. Her lips had thinned and for a moment Harry had thought she was going to tell him to face the world, possibly mention that he was meant to be one of her Gryffindors, but in the end she relented to the small favour. They were, however, accosted by something unexpected.

About five minutes into the walk out of the school gates, owls descended upon him dropping letters and packages onto his head. Despite Remus' warnings to leave them alone, Harry picked up a letter and tore it open. He went pale as he read a letter from a witch praising his bravery for enduring the Dursleys (to whom she had sent several nasty Howlers) and offering to take him in to raise as her own child.

"They rest are most likely pretty similar." Sirius said as he read over Harry's shoulder. Remus banished the rest towards the castle. Apparently Harry had been receiving letters like these since the articles were published, but while he was staying in the hospital or at Hogwarts, there had been wards placed to redirect the mail away from him. The Hogwarts house elves had been busy during what was supposed to be their little reprieve during the summer, as they had been the ones to go through hundreds of these letters a week to see if there was anything worth reporting to the Headmistress. That had answered a question that he hadn't even considered until then, as to why the few letters he received came alongside his meals rather than be delivered by owls.

"Is there any way to get them to leave me the fu- I mean, leave me alone?" Harry spat out as what was possibly the twentieth owl swooped over his head.

Sirius snorted and set fire to a letter even before the owl had dropped it, causing the bird to hiss at the ex-Auror. "There is a spell you can use…, Remus can you do it?"

The werewolf shook his head. "I've seen you use the spell before, why can't you do it?"

Sirius looked embarrassed. "It needs a bit of complicated wandwork and it helps if you have a clear head. I… have a bit of a headache... Is there a pet shop near here?"

Even without that seemingly unrelated comment at the end, it was obvious to Harry that Sirius was not entirely sober, but he still attempted the spell. He made complex motions with his wand while muttering under his breath. He attempted the minute long incantation twice with no effect and on the third go finally shot out blue sparks towards Harry. An owl in the distance that Harry was following with his eyes came to a sudden stop and started flying around in circles. It hooted in distress while scanning it's surroundings and eventually turned and started flying in the direction it had come from.

Harry sighed in relief, but Remus looked a bit worried, "How long will the spell last?"

"About an hour, I reckon." Sirius said as he scanned the skies to make sure his spell had worked. "If someone is desperate enough to contact Harry, they'll undoubtedly try again."

"Why did you ask about the pet shop?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh that? Some shops stock these objects that have the spell imbued on them." Sirius explained. "It's a needlessly complex spell that a lot of people have trouble with, but it's pretty useful if you don't want to be bothered for a while."

With the initial awkwardness being broken by the owls, Harry quietly asked for any news about Corinne, Hagrid or any other non-specific Professors that weren't currently at Hogwarts. They both chuckled lightly at that, but didn't have anything new to tell Harry.

It was one of his shortest trips to Hogsmeade. Harry wasn't in the mood to visit Zonko's, Honeydukes or anywhere else he would visit with his friends on their trips. In less than an hour Harry had bought everything he needed and was heading back towards the school gates.

"Hey, how about we have lunch here?" Sirius pointed at the Three Broomsticks. After seeing Harry look overhead worriedly, he added, "I'll cast the spell again in a bit. You don't have to worry about owls bothering us."

Harry nodded. It had been nice to get out of the castle for a bit, even more so that no one (or rather no portraits simulating life) was looking at him even without being covered head to toe in an invisibility cloak. Remus went ahead, speaking to Madam Rosemerta. She smiled at him and pointed them towards some stairs that Harry had never realised were there.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked as they climbed up.

"We got a room upstairs, thought you might prefer a little privacy." Sirius had a mischievous twinkle in his eye that Harry didn't like. The ground level had been pretty much empty. If they sat in the corner, it would have been unlikely that they would be bothered.

They stopped at a door and Sirius and Remus pushed ahead, almost scrambling to get in before Harry. Why were they being so weird? Unless… had they found Corinne? Or maybe Professor Riddle had managed to sneak back so he could give Harry explanations and reassurances. With a smile forming on his face, an expression he hadn't worn for a while now, he stepped through the door.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Remus and Sirius roared. There was muttered confusion, before other voices joined in half way through, making a cacophony of noise with the words almost unrecognisable. "Happy birthday Harry!"

Harry went extremely pale and took a step backwards. He must have looked like he was about to run since Sirius caught him by the arm and led him gently towards his friends. They were squinting at him uncertainly and Harry finally realised it was because of the spell Professor McGonagall had used on him.

The first thing he noticed was how much Ron had grown, he was now at least a head taller than Harry was. They hadn't seen each other for several months now and the change was startling, Harry would have almost believed it if someone had told him it wasn't actually Ron and that it was one of his many brothers. The redhead smiled hesitantly at first, but when Harry didn't immediately scowl or turn away, he took it as a sign of encouragement and his face brightened. Harry managed to return a tiny grin despite everything, he had missed his friend. He couldn't help but feel if Ron had been with them last year, he wouldn't be in the horrible mess he was in now.

Ernie Macmillan stood there, his back straight like always. When Harry had first met the boy at eleven, he had thought that the way he carried himself had made the Hufflepuff seem slightly pompous, but now the familiar sight was comforting. It also helped that he was more relaxed, more casual around his close friends, of which Harry Potter was near the top of the list. There was a sadness in his eyes as he watched Harry, but then he gave a single slow nod that told him that if he needed anything Ernie would have his back.

The Hufflepuff had a single finger entwined with that of his girlfriend, Sue Li. The Ravenclaw witch had cut her hair short some time during the summer, or perhaps even before that. She tried to smile brightly alongside everyone else in the room, but her eyes held a flash of anger. People sometimes had it in their heads that Ravenclaws were all even headed and logical and indeed she was. But she had a quick temper sometimes, like when someone questioned her ability to do something, or when her friends were in trouble. Harry made a mental note never to leave her alone with Sirius, for fear that they may plan something against the Dursleys.

Hermione looked close to tears. Even though it hadn't been that long since Harry had seen her, and even less time since their last correspondence through owl (and house elf) post, Harry felt just as strange seeing her as he did seeing the others. Harry knew she felt guilty about a lot of things that she had absolutely no reason to feel guilty about. Harry still remembered the worried look she had on her face when he turned back on their way to watch the third task.

She leapt forwards and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Oh, Harry! I always thought-! But never like th- And I can't believe that Pro-"

"Now, now." Remus said as he gently prised the girl away from Harry. "We're not here to remind Harry of all the terrible things that had happened, we're here to celebrate his birthday."

Hermione sniffed and nodded, allowing the others a chance to say hello as well. Sue hugged him tightly as well, while Ernie and Ron settled for an awkward half hug, half handshake, while trying to give him a reassuring smile. Harry tried to smile back and thank them. He had honestly forgotten it was his birthday, it had seemed even less of an issue now than when he was living with the Dursleys.

After Sirius removed the transfiguration spell and reinforced the one keeping the owls at bay, Harry sat down at the head of the table which was already laden with food. There were bright summery salads and a thick green soup for starters, and several roast chickens with mounds of potatoes with gravy for mains. On a separate table along the wall were two cakes both with the words 'Happy Birthday Harry!' written in icing.

"Hagrid sends his best wishes." Remus said pointing at one of the cakes.

"The other one's from mum..." Ron said after a pause. "If it tastes a bit salty, it's because she kept crying while she was icing the cake…"

He looked around with a slight grin and there were a few uncomfortable laughs at the joke. At least, Harry hoped it was a joke. Knowing Mrs. Weasley, he could easily imagine her doing just that.

They started eating quietly, with the conversation horrible awkward and stilted. It was as if they'd all agreed beforehand not to talk about anything that might upset Harry, which meant there wasn't all that much they could talk about while keeping him a part of their conversation. In the end, they ended up talking about the homework they were set during the summer. Even Ron, who never liked talking about school work in general, seemed to have a lot to say, anxious to keep the conversation away from more uncomfortable topics.

Hermione on the other hand, wasn't showing her usual enthusiasm. She startled when Harry asked her about a particular essay, "Oh. I didn't get around to doing that yet..."

Everyone froze and stared at her in disbelief. Ron hastily covered his mouth as a bit of food he was chewing almost fell out of his mouth. Sue bit her lips and finally managed to say ask they were all thinking, "You… haven't finished it all yet?"

"No. I haven't." Hermione snapped at her friend, then blushed guiltily. "We still have plenty of time."

"Is everything alright?" Ernie asked.

"Yes!" Hermione said with an annoyed shake of her head. "Just because I haven't finished everything yet, doesn't mean the end of the world!"

They looked at her, startled, and Remus even choked on the butterbeer he was drinking. Sirius looked bemused as he slapped his friend's back. Harry smoothed the grin forming on his face, for a moment it almost felt like things were back to normal, "Hermione, you're always going on about our homework even before the holidays start!

"Well I had other things on my mind!" Hermione sounded annoyed.

"Probably about little Vicky..." Ron muttered under his breath.

Hermione turned to him, her eyes flashing. "As a matter of fact I _haven't_ heard from him in weeks! I had other things on my mind, like as to whether I'd even be allowed to return to Hogwarts this year!"

"W..what do you mean?" Sue asked, she looked just as shocked as the rest of them, meaning Hermione hadn't even confided in her.

Hermione cast a guilty look to Harry, then the two adults in the room. Then she shook her head. "It doesn't matter..."

"It's about me… isn't it?" Harry whispered as every bit of positive emotion he had gathered in this room vanished. "Because I… attacked… my relatives..."

"No! It has nothing to do with you. Really. It's..." she hesitated and sighed. "It's Pr- _Riddle_. I've been getting the Prophet over the summer and… I've been trying to keep them hidden, but my mum found one in my room. It was the one with the absolutely scathing article against Pr- Riddle. The one that said how he might sneak back into the school in the middle of the school year and murder us all out of spite..."

"He wouldn't do that!" Harry stood, knocking over his chair.

"Harry!" Remus shot him a warning look. "I think what Harry meant to say is that no one, especially Professor McGonagall would allow that to happen. I already know for a fact that the Ministry will be offering protection for the students when the term starts."

His friends stared at Harry while he picked up his chair and sat down with a scowl, but he didn't say anything. Hermione sighed, "Yes well, I've been telling them exactly that, but they keep saying I've wasted four years of my life attending a school run by a mad man."

"You should speak with Professor McGonagall." Remus advised. "She might be able to help you convince them."

Hermione nodded as she started nibbling her food. Harry's appetite had vanished, and he poked his food with a sullen expression for a while before pushing his plate away. Sirius and Remus worked together to clear the table before hovering the two cakes onto it. They worked in silence, only murmuring a quiet 'happy birthday' again as they placed two slices (one of each) of the cake in front of him. His friends echoed the words, but Harry only responded with a curt nod.

Soon afterwards they handed him his presents. A few books about Aurors and fighting the dark arts and lots of sweets. Ron had also brought quite a lot of things from his family, who wanted to be here but had stayed behind to give Harry a quiet birthday, Harry was thankful to Sirius for managing to convince them, especially Mrs. Weasley. There was the home-made fudge Mrs. Weasley normally gave him during Christmas and a screwdriver from Mr. Weasley, because he had heard it was something very useful. Other than the cards from each member of the red-headed family, saying that they considered Harry one of their own and would always be welcome, Ron also sneaked him a suspicious looking package that he told him not to open in front of Sirius and Remus, the twins had apparently made him something.

Ron's own present was a recording of the world cup finals that were held last year that he had managed to get his hands on. He handed it over to Harry alongside the Nimbus Two Thousand, another thing Harry hadn't really thought about all summer. "Thanks again for lending me the broom, Harry. And sorry I didn't write back all summer… I.. erm… it was..."

"I understand." he wasn't entirely sure if he did or he didn't. He couldn't really imagine his situation from his friend's perspective, but he wasn't going to have a falling out with Ron over that. He imagined he was going to need all the friends he could keep to survive his fifth year. Harry stared down at the goggles and frowned, "Aren't these really expensive? They were selling something similar during the broom race, they were like… forty Galleons or something..."

Ron's eyes bulged out, "Bloody hell! I hope you didn't buy that! You were getting ripped off mate. No, my dad knew someone who had a spare. I watched it a few times, I hope you don't mind..."

"Not at all." Harry smiled. His final present was from Sirius and Remus, which was a little disappointing, because it looked like a bag, a brown leather satchel pretty much identical to the one he'd been using to carry his school stuff around. He had been using the same one since he bought it on the trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid before his first year, but it was still serviceable and he had never really considered getting a new one. "Er… thanks. It'll be useful."

Sirius caught his expression and smirked. "How about you hear us out before looking so disappointed?"

It turned out to be more than just a simple bag. It was something he could imagine someone paranoid, like Moody, would have used at school. There was a buckle on the strap that was a miniature Sneakoscope that vibrated against his shoulder instead of making any noise and on the inside of the bag was a Foe-Glass that he could glance at every time he opened it. It was also much more spacious than he realised, he could probably have carried most of his belongings (not that he really had that much) inside, without any trouble.

"One more thing..." Remus took it off Harry for a moment and threw it over to Sirius, who winced slightly. "Harry, don't give Sirius permission to open the bag."

"Er… what?" Harry asked bemusedly.

"Can I have a look inside?" Sirius asked, grinning now.

"Sur-" Harry caught Remus' look and shook his head. "Er… I mean. No."

"Ah, well. I'm having a look anyway..." the ex-Auror said and moved to open the bag. There was a shrill ringing in the air and a pulse of energy as Sirius Black was knocked away and crashed into the wall. He got back onto his feet, nursing a bruise forming on the back of his head. "Yeah, so it's pretty secure as well."

"Thanks!" Harry said, this time more genuinely, as he examined his present.

"I really should have got you something like this last year..." Sirius said solemnly. "That great big Sneakoscope was pretty useless, wasn't it?"

"It did work… It was just a bit too… sensitive." Harry said diplomatically. "And… I should have looked after it better..."

Remus sighed, "I'd hate to think you would be in any danger inside the castle, but you never know… Be on the lookout for any trouble, and always look after one another."

The teenagers all looked at each other and nodded with determination.

* * *

The Great Hall, the perpetually noisy Great Hall, fell into complete silence even without the Professor standing for everyone's attention. Harry looked straight ahead, without meeting anyone's eyes, and headed for the spot between Ron and Hermione, where they had left him a space. His face didn't betray any of the foul mouthed cursing that was roaring in his mind, telling them all to mind their own bloody business. They always stared at him, but it was worse this year. He once again directed his angry thoughts towards the Headmistress, who was currently giving him a small but encouraging nod, and instantly felt guilty a second later. She had insisted he attend the feast, threatening to kick him out of her house if he didn't. He thought it was an empty threat, he had never heard of anyone being kicked out of one of the houses, but he wasn't about to challenge her. She had been nothing but kind and accommodating towards him all summer.

He kept his head down, facing the empty plate, as the new term began. He barely heard the Sorting Hat's new song, the names of the first years, or the new announcement that Headmistress McGonagall made.

When the food appeared, people around him began to throw questions at him in raised voices that began to carry to each end of the Hall. He was grateful for Ron and Hermione, who were quietly and not-so-quietly telling everyone to shut up. He was ignoring everything and concentrating on eating, so it took a sharp nudge to his side to realise that Ron was asking him a question. "Sorry, what?"

"Snape." Ron whispered at him. "Where is he?"

Harry frowned and glanced at the staff table. He couldn't recall Professor McGonagall saying that Snape was going to be replaced. He would definitely have remembered it, he would have been conflicted whether to feel happy or further guilt at another casualty. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen him all summer, not even when the other professors started turning up. I just presumed he was avoiding me."

"Professor McGonagall didn't mentioned another Potions professor." Hermione added from Harry's other side. "Maybe he's just late?"

The hope that Snape wouldn't be teaching him potions any longer lasted throughout the night and up till the moment he was standing in front of the classroom for the first lesson of the term. He was the first to arrive in the dungeons, only a few minutes before the lesson was about to start, to find the door locked.

The rest of his class arrived soon after and they gathered at the locked door and they all stared at Harry with a complete spectrum of emotions. Justin stared at him with trepidation, possibly because he was Muggleborn and was worried that Harry might lash out at him. Pansy was glaring with open hostility and this he understood, after all he was involved in the events leading up to getting the most respected Slytherin Headmaster kicked out of Hogwarts and on the run from the authorities. The absolute worst stares came from the other girls, led by Lavender Brown, which was an expression reserved solely for puppies, some sort of three-legged, emaciated puppy that had just been diagnosed with a vile and incurable disease. Harry had purposefully avoided staying in the common room too long the night before, just to get away from these looks. Harry closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall.

Even after five minutes there seemed to be no signs of Snape showing up, and a few of his classmates were suggesting they go find the Headmistress. Harry slowly opened his eyes and everyone must have gotten bored of Harry not showing any response, since they were all talking amongst themselves not looking in his direction. No one other than Draco Malfoy. Harry stared back suspiciously, because the look was not one he had been expecting. He had expected the Slytherin boy to be leading the 'blame Potter for Riddle's absence' group alongside Pansy Parkinson, but he didn't look at all angry. If anything, he looked considering, calculating, a look that Harry didn't like.

Harry flushed angrily when he realised what Malfoy was thinking. He knew the rumours about the Malfoy family, dark wizards, pureblood supremacists with no love for Muggles. He probably thought Harry was like them, willing to use dark curses on Muggles to show who was on top.

Harry looked away just as he heard the swish of heavy robes. Snape appeared around the corner, looking as if he had just arrived at Hogwarts moments ago. He wore a grimy travelling cloak and was holding a large package by his side. He glared at the gathered students until they were silent, it didn't take more than a second. "Move aside."

They parted neatly into two, allowing the Potions professor to unlock the door with a tap of his wand. Everyone hesitated, but followed him inside when he said nothing else.

The room smelled musty, as if it hadn't been aired out for a while. Perhaps the man hadn't been avoiding Harry. He vaguely recalled Professor Riddle mentioning that he could help Harry with something, so maybe he was away preparing for that?

Harry remained leaning against the wall, waiting until everyone else shuffled inside. He didn't want to spend the whole lesson begin stared at like a mad criminal or the world's most wretched puppy, so he took a seat by the back on his own. Snape waved his wand at the blackboard, then he turned to them and barked, "This is a potion that often comes up during the O.W.L.s you will be taking this year. Ingredients are in the cupboard. You have an hour. Get on with it."

With that he turned and headed for a door behind his desk. Everyone stared. He seemed to be in a worse mood than usual, but he hadn't given them his usual talk of how he expected everyone to have forgotten what they've learnt the past year over the summer. Ron had also mentioned that the professors usually start their fifth year classes by droning on and on about the importance of their O.W.L.s.

When the door slammed shut behind the Potions Professor, everyone leapt up into action. Harry stayed seated, fiddling with his cauldron and flicking through his Potions textbook, even though he didn't think he needed to. He remembered doing this potion with Professor Riddle last year. It had been one of the more simpler ones and he had managed to brew it just as well as Hermione.

The seat next to his slid out and someone sat down. Harry let out an exasperated sigh but kept his eyes glued onto the book. He eventually had to get up to collect the ingredients and he did a double-take as he saw Malfoy sitting next to him. Harry gritted his teeth and went over to the store cupboard. When he returned he lighted a fire, began chopping the ingredients and, most importantly, completely ignored the boy sitting next to him.

It wasn't that difficult, since Malfoy seemed to be completely ignoring him as well and soon he managed to half-forget that there was anyone sitting besides him and concentrate on brewing the potion.

Snape returned just as Harry began adding the fairy wings to the simmering water. The Professor's dark eyes darted around the room looking for anyone making a fatal mistake, which was unlikely since most of them were still chopping and dicing, although Hannah Abbott nearly sliced her finger clean off when Snape entered by slamming the door open.

Harry remembered why he always hated Potions, as the Professor stalked between the tables with a perpetual scowl on his face. Even though he was sure he was doing everything correctly, Snape managed to make him feel as if he was about to cause an imminent explosion and take out half the classroom. Snape raised half an eyebrow as he saw who Harry was sitting next to, then he peered closely at the contents of his cauldron. His eyes narrowed and his lips twitched as if he was struggling to find an excuse to take points away from Gryffindor, but it seemed he couldn't think of anything and just walked away, snapping at Lavender instead.

Eventually Harry lost himself in the 'intricacies of potion making', as Snape would probably say, and briefly forgot all about his troubles. An hour later, Harry was sweating and the sleeves of his robes were splashed with the potion from when he had stirred it a little too enthusiastically, but he was pretty happy with the results. Snape started from the front of the classroom and looked into each of the cauldrons. He made helpful suggestions (harsh criticisms) on how they could have done better and finally he got to Harry. He first gave Malfoy a nod and a "Very good, Draco." before sneering at Harry's potion.

"Honestly Potter, I expected your usual abysmal self- no. In fact, I lowered my expectations considerably when I remembered your blissful absence from my classroom for a whole year. But this..." Harry stared at the potion that Snape was gesturing at dismissively, and frowned. He glanced over at Malfoy's potion which, to Harry's eye, looked pretty much identical to his own. "I'll see you here tonight, Potter. We'll have to arrange some sort of… _remedial_ lessons for you to catch up on a year's worth of work."

Snape was sneering at him, but his eyes were an unflinching glare, as if daring Harry to contradict him. Harry saw Malfoy shuffle in his seat as he stared between his head of house and Harry's potion. He was frowning and opened his mouth, almost as if he was going to object, but he seemed to sense something in Snape's glare and clamped his mouth shut. Harry didn't say anything either.

* * *

"Professor Riddle-" Harry startled slightly at hearing the title, then he remembered all the spells that Snape had used just as Harry was entering the room. "-has told me that your memories have-"

"You've spoken to him?" Harry looked hopeful.

"No. Professor McGonagall has informed me." Snape looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Do not interrupt me again. As I was saying, he said your memories have been poisoned. Not removed, not modified, but poisoned. Something almost unheard of and something that has required much research on my part, throughout the summer, to find a way to cure. He has also asked that I teach you Occlumency."

"Occlumency?" Harry asked blankly.

Snape sneered at him, "Occlumency is the branch of magic that helps one defend the mind against external penetration. The Headmaster (Snape seemed intent on calling him that, despite his absence) seems to have concluded a mental attack was what has caused you to… attack your relatives and I agree that it is the most likely cause. You will return here every week at this time for these lessons and you will tell everyone you have remedial potions."

Harry scowled at Snape, who seemed to be enjoying the situation a little too much. Harry tried to keep his annoyance from showing on his face, "So, if I learn this… it will fix everything? Professor Riddle will be able to come back and-"

"Did you really think it was such a simple matter?" Snape stared at him disdainfully. "Did you think he sacrificed himself so lightly? That he sacrificed the decades of work he put into this school and the name of Slytherin thinking that this matter would be settled within a few weeks? I don't suppose anyone has bothered to tell you about the amount of hatred being levelled towards my house? About the talks of removing Slytherin from Hogwarts altogether? No Potter, it will not be _fixed_ so easily, but it will be a start in getting some answers. Now, we have no more time to waste. Let us begin..."

With that Snape brought out the Pensieve Harry remembered from the Headmaster's office.

Harry left two hours later feeling completely drained. Occlumency, he thought bitterly, was not something he enjoyed learning any more than he did Potions. He wondered if it was because of the way Snape was teaching him, but if Professor Riddle expected him to learn, he couldn't really complain. It wasn't just the Occlumency, Snape dragged out Harry's memoires like Professor Riddle had done, but with none of the care and finesse. He also questioned Harry with more exhaustible thoroughness than everyone else in the past weeks combined, going back to his third year and his encounter with the enigmatic Gaunt in the Forbidden Forest.

"Omnia vincit amor." Harry muttered at the portrait.

"Yes dear, it really does." the Fat Lady looked at him sadly and took a very long time to open up. "I'm always here if you need someone to talk to. You know that, don't you?"

"Thanks..." Harry sighed quietly before stepping through. He had heard this quite a few times over the summer, but he wasn't about to go vent his feeling to a portrait.

A hush settled around the room as he entered the common room, but Harry ignored it and climbed the stairs to his room. It took less than a minute for Ron and Hermione to follow him inside. "We heard! Remedial Potions with Snape?"

Harry groaned, "Does everybody know?"

"Lavender Brown." is all Hermione said and Harry understood. "But I don't understand. You did really well last year with Pro- Riddle… And I heard the potion you did was one of the ones you brewed almost perfectly..."

"Snape's probably being a right Slytherin git." Ron said angrily. "You should talk to McGonagall, you know? He might be doing something on Riddle's orders. Riddle might even order him to finish you off or something."

Harry unconsciously let out a growl and glared at his friend. He quickly lowered his head until the fury had passed. When he looked up it seemed Ron hadn't noticed and had grabbed a chocolate frog to offer to Harry. But Hermione was staring at him inquisitively.

"Thanks Ron," Hermione murmured distractedly as he handed her a chocolate as well, but her eyes stayed on Harry. "Harry… is there something… you're not telling us? About… Professor Riddle?"

She didn't even bother to correct the slip of the title 'Professor' that she'd been having trouble letting go of all summer. Harry wanted to tell them, he had wanted to tell them from the start, that someone had lured him to Privet Drive, caused him to attack his aunt and uncle, and that the Headmaster was covering for him. They would understand, they would believe him, but then they would ask why. Why had Professor Riddle attacked, and almost killed, Kendra Dumbledore? He would then have to explain the prophecy and that was something he didn't expect them to understand.

Maybe he would have been able to tell them when he first found out, and they could have just laughed about the complete ridiculousness of it all. But now? After what he had done to his relatives, not just cursing them, but cursing them with something that was Unforgivable. He was grateful for it, but sometimes he didn't understand the blind faith that everyone who knew about the prophecy was showing him. And when there was a small part of Harry's mind that didn't trust himself, how could he expect his friends to trust him?

"No. Riddle… is evil..." Harry said, and hated himself for doing so. "He was always up to something… I don't know what… but he needs to be stopped."

* * *

 **A/N**

If you're still reading my fic after all this time, you'll know that I update once a week and I'll be trying to keep to that schedule. I have a decent number of chapters written up, so I should hopefully be able to finish this year without incident.

Glad to see there were so many people who returned to my fic even after that long break! Thank you to everyone who left a review for the last chapter! =)

And also a customary thank you to my beta, Lord Shasta.


	42. Year 5 - Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Hidden Agendas**

It seemed Snape was right when he said that this was going to be a long process. Harry was still having trouble with Occlumency and the cleansing of his memories was going even slower. Harry contacted Sirius and Remus every day, asking for any news, but every time they had nothing at all to give. Sirius developed a twitch in his right eye every time Harry opened his mouth to ask the question, but the ex-Auror bit down on his impatience and calmly told the boy that they would contact him immediately if there was anything worth telling. Harry was told to keep his head down and concentrate on his studies. That was certainly what the rest of his classmates seemed to be doing.

It hadn't been just Snape, every single professor stressed the importance of their fifth year, the year they would be taking their O.W.L.s. Everyone still whispered about Harry and Professor Riddle, but now they only spared Harry a brief glance instead of constant uncomfortable stares. With a month passed since the start of term, everyone was too busy with their work to discuss old news. It also helped that Headmistress McGonagall took a stance of 'business as usual' and she ruthlessly took away points, even from hew own Gryffindors, when students were gossiping in her class.

Harry stayed quiet, but he couldn't really concentrate on work, because he knew something that the rest of the school didn't. They thought that Riddle had gone a little mad and that he had passed along some of that madness to Harry, who had taken revenge on his abusive 'guardians'. They didn't know that it was all the work of Grindelwald moving in the shadows, his planning for decades finally coming to fruition. His followers, the Witnesses, had quietened down again and it felt like the calm before a terrible storm. Despite McGonagall's brave stance, she knew what Harry knew, and he could see the tired lines under her eyes every time he saw her.

Harry had taken to waking up early now, before most others in Gryffindor, so he could hurry to breakfast and leave before anyone else came down to the Great Hall. He knew his friends were making an effort, but Harry still felt uncomfortable talking to them. When they tried to comfort him, by saying horrible things about the Dursleys or Professor Riddle, Harry found it difficult to contain his anger. A few who noticed Harry's unease on the subject avoided talking about it, but a certain look never left their eyes. A look of pity that Harry hated more than anything.

He brushed off the crumbs of toast from his hands and stood up, replying to the few tentative greetings sent his way. There was still some time before his first class, so he headed out of the Great Hall and towards the place he visited each morning.

"Morning, Hedwig." Harry called out quietly as he entered the owlery. There was a rustle of feathers and the snowy owl flew down, landing atop of Harry's shoulder. She was blinking sleepily, but she hooted with affection while nipping his ear lightly. Harry laughed, "Nice to see you too."

He felt slightly guilty every time he visited his pet empty handed, but he had made the mistake of visiting with owl treats once, only to be bombarded by the other residents. After that Hedwig knew to visit him in the afternoon, when he was outside, if she wanted such treats.

There was the sound of footsteps behind him, but Harry didn't turn around. He looked out the window as he gently stroked Hedwig with one hand. The footsteps stopped and the person didn't make a noise to call an owl or acknowledge Harry's presence. Harry presumed he was being stared at again.

"Potter." the familiar voice eventually said and Harry couldn't stop himself from sighing. It was far too early in the morning for this.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry replied, without turning to face him. He continued to brush Hedwig's feathers with his fingers, but he moved his other hand discreetly towards his wand.

"It's polite to look at someone when they are speaking to you." Malfoy said with only the barest hint of annoyance.

Harry let out a humourless laugh and Hedwig shook slightly in displeasure, "I'm not very polite. Or haven't you heard? I was very impolite to my aunt and uncle a few months ago..."

"Oh, I heard." the reply was nonchalant.

Harry turned slowly, to avoid Hedwig digging her talons into Harry's skin, and faced the Slytherin boy. Harry narrowed his eyes in suspicion, his fingers gripping his wand prepared to send a curse or a hex at the slightest sign of provocation. Malfoy had been uncharacteristically _un-Malfoyish_ for the past month and it was starting to get unnerving.

Most of the other Slytherins were keeping their head down and Harry did feel sorry for them, especially on Professor Riddle's behalf. There were a handful of other Slytherins he had spoken to cordially during his time at Hogwarts and there had been three members of the house at Durmstrang during his last year and although Harry didn't know them well enough to be able to call them friends, they had helped him with his work, they had flown and played Quidditch together and they had helped him with his duelling when he was about to go with the Aurors. So Harry didn't think Slytherins were all bad, but Draco Malfoy he just didn't like as a person. Harry still hadn't forgiven him for smashing his camera during the first year, and he was sure Malfoy still held a similar grudge for what Harry had done to his nose.

Harry had wondered if Malfoy had become more bearable during the fourth year he had spent at Durmstrang, but such thoughts were immediately quashed when he asked Ron. His friend hadn't really written about the Slytherin much during their correspondences by owl post, but it seemed there had been quite a few unfriendly incidences that the red head hadn't mentioned, including a detention Ron had to serve with Professor McGonagall for attacking Malfoy in the corridors. Whatever Malfoy had said to provoke Ron must have been bad, since he still flushed angrily even though it had been almost a year ago.

Saying he was nice would be a stretch, but he was polite enough. The usual dozen jibes and taunts he would have launched at Harry or his friends had been absent and he didn't react to the shouts of 'Slytherin scum!' being sent towards him either. Ron was convinced this was because, along side the rest of the 'snakes' as he put it, he didn't have Riddle to watch his back any more. It was true, the Slytherins were a lot more subdued compared to previous years, but Harry was sure there was more to it than that. If Malfoy had just wanted to stay inconspicuous, he wouldn't be constantly trying to sit next to Harry during class. Not that he did anything more than that, or Harry definitely would have told him to piss off. But the Slytherin boy, who didn't talk and barely looked in his direction, was useful in preventing anyone he _would_ have to talk to from sitting next to him.

Harry was convinced that Malfoy wanted something from him. He sure as hell wasn't going to give it to him, whatever it was, but Harry had to admit he was the slightest bit curious. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

Malfoy stared at him for a moment and said without expression, "It seems, Potter, that you could use a friend."

"...What?" Harry gaped at him, before letting out an undignified snort that soon turned to incredulous laughter. Harry winced briefly as Hedwig took off with an annoyed hoot, digging her talons into his shoulder, but it wasn't enough to stop the laughter. Harry shook his head as he watched the darkening scowl on the Slytherin boy's face. "A friend? You? You must be-"

"Not me, Potter, my father." Malfoy snapped quickly through gritted teeth.

Of course, that's what it was. The little he knew about Lucius Malfoy was enough for Harry to know that he was very much like Albus Dumbledore. He wanted Harry to help him further whatever agenda he was pursuing. Lucius Malfoy might not be on the same side as Dumbledore, but Harry had no desire to help him either. Harry smirked at the younger Malfoy, "Isn't your father a little old to be making friends with teenagers? Does he have some sort of fetis-"

Draco let out a snarl that cut Harry's words mid sentence. "Don't be stupid, Potter. You know what I mean. With Riddle gone, you no longer have anyone… influential… looking after your best interests. Now people like Albus Dumbledore only remain, opportunists who want to use your fame-"

"People like Albus Dumbledore… and your father surely? I'm not an idiot." Harry snorted.

"My father is the only reason McGonagall is still running this school. My father is the one who convinced enough people that letting you stay at Hogwarts during the summer was the best course of action." Malfoy said haughtily, smirking when he saw Harry's surprised expression. "I guess no one told you that, did they? You would be in Dumbledore's hands right now if he hadn't intervened."

"Well, if it's true… thank him for me." Harry said brusquely before heading towards the door.

"Thank him yourself." Malfoy stepped in front of him and shoved something into Harry's hand.

Harry looked down at the sealed letter and hesitated a moment before opening it. Harry scanned through it quickly. In contained the general platitudes and sympathies he had grown tired of recently. It ended with an invitation to lunch during his next Hogsmeade visit. Harry looked up to see the Slytherin boy staring at him with an expectant and horribly smug expression that suddenly infuriated Harry.

He had been struggling throughout the weeks trying to keep his bubbling anger in check. He had already caused enough damage, he had to keep his head down and lashing out a people who didn't deserve it wasn't going to help him do that. But here stood Draco Malfoy, looking as smug as he always did, with a message from his father who Harry had no desire to get better acquainted with. With a feral grin Harry held the parchment in his fingers and without breaking eye contact with the boy in front of him slowly ripped it into several pieces, "Your father can go f-"

His following words caused Malfoy's face to twist in anger as his hands automatically darted into his robes, undoubtedly reaching for his wand. Harry ignored it, not bothering to reach for his own and shoved him aside, heading towards the door. Just as he reached the exit, he saw a bright flare behind him. He immediately dropped to the floor and rolled aside, his wand out and aimed at Malfoy in an instant. He was surprised to find that Malfoy wasn't aiming his own wand at Harry, but instead up in the air towards the owls. Harry then realised that he could no longer hear the sound of a hundred owls above him. Malfoy was shaking with contained rage, but he was purposefully avoiding looking at Harry while he reached for something else from his pocket, while his wand was lowered to the ground.

Harry flinched as Malfoy removed something sharply and threw it towards the Gryffindor. The red thing unfurled and hovered a few feet away from Harry. He just about managed to cover his ears with his hands, as the howler started making its terrible noise.

"MR. POTTER, IT SEEMS DRACO WAS UNABLE TO CONVINCE YOU TO ACCEPT MY LITTLE INVITATION." the whole room seemed to rattle with the thunderous voice of Lucius Malfoy. "PERHAPS IT IS A GOOD THING THAT YOU ARE NOT SO TRUSTING. WERE YOU SO GULLIBLE OTHERS MIGHT HAVE ALREADY PICKED YOU APART. BEFORE YOU REFUSE ME AGAIN LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I ALREADY KNOW. I KNOW THAT IF TOM RIDDLE HAD BEEN TRULY PLANNING SOMETHING HE WOULD NOT BE IN THE POSITION HE IS IN NOW, ON THE RUN WITH THE MINISTRY OUT FOR HIS BLOOD. I ALSO KNOW THAT, ALTHOUGH CALM ON THE SURFACE, THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN TENSION BETWEEN RIDDLE AND ALBUS DUMBLEDORE. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WENT DOWN ON THAT DAY YOU ATTACKED YOUR RELATIVES, AND FRANKLY, I DO NOT CARE. IT HAS PUT DUMBLEDORE, SOMEONE I KNOW YOU HAVE NO LOVE FOR, IN A POSITION OF GREAT POWER. ALBUS DUMBLEDORE IS NOT WHO HE SEEMS, I THINK YOU MUST HAVE SENSED THE SAME. WERE HE TO SUCCEED IN WHATEVER HE PLANS, I DO NOT THINK YOU WOULD ENJOY THE OUTCOME, ANY MORE THAN I WOULD. I EXPECT TO SEE YOU SOON, MR. POTTER."

* * *

"CRUCIO!" Uncle Vernon writhed in front of him, the noise he was making was worse than a dozen howlers going off near his head.

"CRUCIO!" Aunt Petunia begged him to stop, but he didn't. And in her glassy eyes he saw his own reflection, he didn't look frightened and confused. Harry Potter wore a cold and uncaring smile as he tortured his own aunt.

Harry fell to the floor choking as he tried to shout and gasp for breath at the same time. He could see anything, he couldn't hear anything, he only felt the cool stone floor against his painfully flaring scar. "-tter. POTTER! Get up! I told you-"

"I'm trying!" Harry screamed in frustration. "I'm bloody trying to empty my mind! I don't- I don't even know- that isn't how it happened. I wasn't-!"

Harry stood up shakily and glared at Snape, who for a moment looked unnerved at what he had seen in Harry's mind. His face turned once again impassive as he approached Harry with his wand, ordering him to stand still. Harry closed his eyes and clenched his jaw as Snape pulled out another strand of his memory, hurrying to one of several cauldrons that were bubbling away. As the silver touched the murky orange of the potion, it began to smoke. Harry walked over and collapsed into a chair, hoping he might be able to rest for a minute.

"Empty your mind, Potter. We shall be trying it again in a few minutes..." Snape muttered distractedly, not even sparing Harry a glance.

Harry groaned quietly. He was trying, he really was. As much as he hated Snape, he knew the consequences of allowing someone into his mind. He was determined to learn Occlumency or die trying. He went as far as researching the subject in the library, which wasn't easy to keep a secret because of Hermione's curiosity. But nothing he read in the ancient tomes were any more helpful than Snape's acrid instructions.

A shout made him jump to his feet, "I'm up… I'm awake..."

"This same… 'memory', it is the third time today that this exact memory came to the forefront of your mind..." Snape looked almost thoughtful as he spoke. "Every time I attempt to breach into your thoughts, it always begins with you attacking your relatives. All false memories, yes?"

Harry nodded tiredly. "What does that mean?"

"It means… there is a reason you are having difficulty learning Occlumency, more than your ineptitude." Snape remarked with a sneer. "It is almost as if there is already an Occlumentic barrier guarding your mind from Legilimency, making it difficult to condition yourself to raise your own barriers."

Harry's mouth dropped open. "Then… this was all a waste of time? I spent hours getting… _tortured_ by you for no-"

"It was not a waste of time." Snape snapped, but Harry didn't fail to notice he didn't deny the 'torture' part of his statement. Snape swept an arm behind him towards the cauldrons. "Do you think I enjoy spending all my free time attempting to find a cure for your condition? Remember that these sessions are not merely about teaching you Occlumency, every small detail I learn will improve my chances of curing you. Now, get ready. We shall try once more."

Harry raised his wand and took a step back. "But you said-"

"We shall attempt something slightly differently. Instead of clearing your mind, concentrate on one memory. Concentrate on a single thought and attempt to recall every sense of that moment, what your saw, what you heard. Remember how the air felt against your skin and the smallest scents you could detect." Snape raised his wand before Harry could even blink. "Do it, now! _Legilimens!_ "

In that desperate second as the spell shot towards him, Harry racked his brain for a memory he could concentrate on, but there was nothing that was so fresh on his mind that he could recall everything Snape was asking him to. Each day was just like another, keeping his head down and trying to concentrate on his school work. Other than the spells he had learnt that lesson, all other details from the classroom had escaped his mind as soon as he left the room.

There was one thing that livened him up more than anything else, Quidditch. They had begun once again to practice, with Alicia Spinnet continuing as Captain of the Quidditch team. For brief moments each week, he could almost forget about everything that had happened.

Harry was on his Nimbus Two-Thousand, gliding through the air. He tried to concentrate on what he was seeing, but it was just a hazy blur. Any sound was completely drowned out by the roaring wind and his skin was completely numb from the chill. He-

Harry gasped in pain as his knees impacted on the cold stone floor, shuddering as he tried to chase away the image of the devastated house at Four Privet Drive.

"That was better." Snape said grudgingly, but then he raised his eyebrow and added, "But really, Potter? That was possibly the worst single thought you could concentrate on."

"That's the best I have!" Harry snapped.

"I am not asking you to recall some long lost memory, Potter! Anything that happened in the last day, the last week. Surely even you can manage that?" then they tried again and again. Harry mentally wandered the castle, trying to recall anything that had happened in the classrooms, the Great Hall, the common room and even in his dormitory. But nothing worked better than his memory of flying. "Think, Potter! There must be something a particularly memorable lesson, an incident with one of your little friends… anything that you've given a second thought to as the days passed."

Truth be told, there wasn't much like what Snape was describing, other than… No, but that was one thing he didn't want Snape to know about. So Harry tried to push it away from his mind, but once it was there he started to pick out the minute details from that day. The strong but not entirely unpleasant scent of the owlery came first, then the exposed chill of the high room. The sharp sensation of talons digging into his shoulders and silence, only to be broken by the ear-splitting wail of the bright red howler.

Harry stumbled but managed to stay on his feet, Snape had broken the spell before Harry could do anything. Snape was staring at him frowning slightly. Harry sighed, there was no point trying to convince Snape that it hadn't happened, so he might as well ask. "Is it true? Did Lucius Malfoy really help Professor McGonagall keep her job? And… Dumbledore away from me?"

"I would... advise you to act with extreme caution around Lucius Malfoy." Snape replied slowly. "Whatever… help he offers you will not come cheap."

Snape hadn't answered his question, but the way he was speaking made Harry think that Malfoy hadn't been lying about that. "Is he… has he ever been associated with Grindelwald's followers?"

Snape let out a huff of breath, "No. But if he was, he would be clever enough not to reveal himself so easily. Enough questions, Potter and ready yourself. That memory is adequate, use it to try and block my attack."

* * *

"Erm… Professor..." Harry said, as he approached Professor McGonagall's desk after everyone else had left the room to head for lunch.

"Potter?" she asked in a clipped tone. When she raised her head away from the pile of parchments in front of her, Harry could see the tired lines under her eyes.

"I was wondering..." Harry mumbled, "Will I be allowed to visit Hogsmeade next weekend with everyone else?"

McGonagall's face softened in sympathy for just a second before becoming hard. "I've heard from Professor Snape that Lucius Malfoy has requested a meeting with you..."

Harry pursed his lips, of course Snape wouldn't have kept it to himself. "I haven't decided what to do yet..."

"I see." McGonagall said. "Just remember, whatever he has done for us, you do not owe him anything. He would not have acted if it were of no benefit to himself."

"I understand." Harry nodded.

"Also..." she hesitated. "It may not be safe for it to reach Dumbledore's ears that you are meeting with Lucius Malfoy. Over the summer he has somewhat publicly declared his opposition to Albus Dumbledore."

"Because he stopped Dumbledore from getting his hands on me?" McGonagall gave a reluctant nod at Harry's question.

"As for Hogsmeade, you will be allowed to visit. Whether you meet with Mr. Malfoy or not, keep to the more populated areas. Aurors will be on patrol around the village, for our… protection." she let out a grim chuckle at the word. "I do not believe you are in any immediate danger from anyone, but I still advise you to practice caution."

Harry thanked the Professor before leaving the room. When he arrived at the packed Great Hall, he got the impression that everyone was looking at him again, with the same intensity at the start of term. Harry almost stumbled at the hundreds of scrutinising gazes, but managed to reach the Gryffindor table.

"What's going on?" Harry asked as he sat next to Hermione, who seemed to be ignoring the food and reading something in front of her along with several others sitting in the vicinity.

Hermione jumped slightly, "Harry! Oh… erm…"

"Is that the Prophet?" he frowned. Despite Harry's misgivings about the paper that revealed all his secrets, an owl arrived for her each morning and she spent her breakfast skimming through it. She had done so this morning as well. Harry looked around and found that there were a few students on each of the house tables that were staring down at their own papers, as well as most of the staff.

"Erm… yeah… breaking news and all that..." Ron murmured from Hermione's other side.

"So, what is it?" Harry's two friends hesitated. "Is it about me?"

"Sort of..." Ron said and Hermione let out a, "Not exactly..." at the same time.

Harry dragged the paper in front of him and flinched as he saw a photograph of Albus Dumbledore staring back at him. "Albus Dumbledore calls for Muggles to be 'educated' to prevent abuse happening behind closed doors. Wh..what is this? What do they mean, educated?"

"I'm not too sure, they were pretty vague on the details." Hermione shrugged uneasily.

Harry turned to the article and started reading.

 _The wizarding world was truly shocked when it was revealed that Harry Potter had suffered abuse under his Muggle relatives, for no other reason than for the fact that Harry Potter is a wizard. Fear of magic is certainly not a new phenomenon, I'm sure the readers are all familiar with the witch hunts of the fourteenth century. It is now much less common to hear about such barbaric acts against wizards and witches, but there still remains an underlying fear, exacerbated after the war against Grindelwald, where countless Muggles perished._

" _What was once easily avoidable by a Confundus Charm, Disillusionment or, in the worst case scenario, a simple Flame Freezing Charm, is no longer so." Albus Dumbledore stated in a speech this morning. "We no longer have to merely contend with fire but with firearms and worse. First let me make clear, I am not proposing we go to war or subjugate the Muggles, I am not giving up my ideals I upheld when I fought against the King of Crows. Nor am I proposing we break the Statue of Secrecy and reveal ourselves to them. Although magic itself works to hide us from the non-magical population, we cannot merely sit on our hands and wait. Just in the past decade, the number of cases where Obliviators had to be sent out has almost doubled. We have reached a point where a stray incident discovered too late could easily spread to a point where Obliviation will not suffice and when our existence becomes known, attacks like the ones young Harry Potter has suffered will become commonplace."_

Harry grimaced and had to stop halfway through the article. "So what exactly is he trying to do?"

"I told you, he's been quite vague on the details." Hermione sounded nervous. "It does sound a bit ominous though..."

"It sounds to me like he's trying to do what's best for everyone, both us and the Muggles." Neville, who Harry hadn't noticed sitting across the table, spoke up. He stared at Harry, a look that Harry had felt was a little hostile, before turning back to Hermione. "Albus Dumbledore is a hero, without him leading the fight against Grindelwald you probably wouldn't even have been born."

"Hey! Ow!" Ron's angry shout caused his pet, Fen the Ichneumon, to bite down on his finger instead of the sliver of chicken he was holding. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Neville shrugged unapologetically. "Grindelwald went after Muggles. If the war had properly reached British soil, it would have really done a number on the Muggle population."

"You still didn't have to put it like that." Ron snapped, checking his finger for any blood.

"What I'm trying to say is that you should be grateful, not suspicious." Neville lowered his eyes and moved the food around his plate. "If you knew half the stuff they went through fighting against the Zeugen, you wouldn't be so quick to judge. My… parents fought alongside him. My mother… gave her life fighting against the monsters who tortured and killed Muggles."

No one spoke, even Ron started shifting uneasily on his seat. Hermione finally cleared her throat, "I'm sorry Neville, I didn't mean-"

"I'm surprised, Harry, that you don't agree with me. After all, your father was the same. He fought alongside Dumbledore and my parents." Neville looked back up at Harry with a cool stare.

"H..he did? I didn't know that..." Harry's mouth widened in shock. No one had ever mentioned that.

Before Harry could ask anything else Neville turned to Ron. "You as well."

"What? My parents never said..." Ron frowned.

"Not your parents, your uncles. Gideon and Fabian Prewett." Neville said.

"Oh. Yeah. Right." Ron nodded, looking slightly embarrassed at having forgotten.

Harry crossed his arms. One of his fingers found a little hole under the arm of his robes and he absentmindedly pushed a digit through it. He suddenly took in a sharp breath and shuddered. "I think I left my homework in the dorms. I need to go get it."

"Alright mate, see you at dinner." Ron was thoughtfully reading through the article in the Prophet again. Hermione looked at him in worry, but didn't say anything as Harry stood and headed for the exit.

He tried to walk casually, but he looked awkward with one arm still crossed against his chest, but he didn't dare move it. With his mind preoccupied, he almost ran straight into Malfoy. "Potter. I still haven't received an answer from you."

"HEY! BACK OFF MALFOY!" the shout was followed by footsteps and in a few seconds Hermione and Ron, with a hissing Fen perched on his shoulder, were either side of Harry.

"This doesn't concern you… Weasley." Malfoy's eyes twitched uneasily towards Fen, he apparently hadn't forgotten the encounter during his third year. "I have business with Potter."

Ron snorted. "Harry doesn't have any business with a filthy Slytherin like you."

Harry cringed at his friend's hatred for the Slytherin house. He wished he could explain to him that not all Slytherins were bad, but he had an act to keep up. He couldn't tell Ron that the person he possibly trusted the most was a Slytherin and that he had given Harry something important. A letter, that was attached to the underside of his robes with a Sticking Charm and covered in black cloth so it could only be touched by a little hole under the arm of his robes. The letter would explain why it shouldn't be a Slytherin you should mistrust, but a very clever and dangerous Gryffindor. A glance around the Hall showed most of the non-Slytherins sending their own hateful glares, with a few of them ready to leap up into action at the first sign the Slytherin might be trying something to the poor abused Gryffindor.

"Ron, it's fine." Harry breathed out at last. "I can deal with Malfoy."

His red-headed friend looked surprised, especially at Harry's lack of hostility. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Harry tried to think quickly. "I… have to ask him something about Potions."

"Really?" Hermione said, looking more than a little hurt. She was who Harry normally went to whenever he had a question about schoolwork.

"Something… from the remedial potion lessons I'm having with Snape… said if I can't find anything on it… Malfoy might know." Harry mumbled.

"Well you could have still asked _me_." Hermione sniffed.

"Granger, what do you possibly know about the Lana Oculus Potion." Malfoy sneered.

Hermione scrunched her forehead in thought, "Oculus means that it has something to do with the eyes or sight. Lana… I'm not sure. That doesn't mean I couldn't have found it in the library!"

She huffed and headed out the door, no doubt heading towards her favourite place in the castle. Ron looked between her, Harry and the Gryffindor table with his unfinished lunch, but in the end decided to follow Hermione.

"What's the Lana Oculus potion?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"Doesn't exist. In Latin it means..." Malfoy sniggered before shaking his head impatiently. "Never mind. Well Potter? I saw you read the Prophet. Dumbledore's already making his move."

"What is he trying to do?" Harry asked.

"I don't know." Malfoy said simply. "But I'm sure that it is something my father can answer if you agree to meet him."

"Fine." Harry sighed.

Malfoy looked pleased. "Good, I'm meet you at the entrance hall at-"

"No!" Harry said sharply, looking around in case anyone overheard. "I'd rather not be seen meeting him. In fact, you need to stay away from me as well. Don't corner me in public like this again."

His eyes twitched in irritation but he gave a curt nod, "I'll send an owl with the time and place then."

"Er… I don't think you should owl me." Harry said and instantly received a furious glare. Harry quickly explained the possibility that there was a spell placed on him that redirected his mail.

"Fine, I'll get it to you somehow." and with that he turned back to the Slytherin table. Harry hurried to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione was bound to ask him about the homework he mentioned and he definitely needed a walk to clear his head.


	43. Year 5 - Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **The Enemy of My Enemy**

"Sirius!" Harry shouted in surprise when the man stepped away from the gates to block Harry's path to Hogsmeade.

"Harry." Sirius returned with a pleasant smile.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked nervously.

"I just came to see how you were doing." Sirius replied.

Harry's friends looked between them, obviously sensing something going on. Ernie was the first to speak, his brows creased in worry. "Have you heard something? Has Riddle been seen near here?"

Sirius looked confused for a moment, before barking out an easy laugh, "No, no. Nothing like that. I really just wanted to talk to Harry about something, something about his… family."

"Oh." Harry's friends said as one.

Sirius gave them a broad smile, "Do you mind if I borrow him for an hour or two?"

They all shook their heads and said goodbye to Harry, telling him to meet them at the Three Broomstick when he was done. Harry sighed in relief, he had been worrying about how he was going to convince them to let him go off on his own. Now he just had to get rid of Sirius. "So… erm… why are you here again? You said something about… family? Did something happen to the Dursleys?"

Sirius snorted disdainfully, "They are not your family, Harry. No, I'm here because of a dream I had about James."

"My dad?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Yep." Sirius shook his head dramatically. "Sirius, he said, I need you to tell Harry something."

Harry's mind whirled. Was this a thing? Talking to dead people? "What did he say?"

"He told me to tell you..." Sirius said seriously, "… to stop being a complete idiot! Really? Going to meet with Lucius _bloody_ Malfoy? On your own? Without bloody telling anyone?"

"I… How…?" Harry stammered.

"McGonagall told me. Who found out through Snape, of all people?" Sirius said irritably. Then he let out a long sigh, "What were you thinking?"

Harry crossed his arms, "I have my reasons."

Sirius scoffed. "Well, fine. But you sure as hell aren't going in there alone."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but then he thought about it. Malfoy hadn't mentioned that Harry needed to come alone, that would have probably made him extremely suspicious about the meeting. In fact, it _was_ probably a good idea to go together with someone he could trust. He had failed to even consider it, spending so much time inside his own head these days. "Okay."

For a moment Sirius looked irritated that Harry had relented so easily, but he just shook his head in exasperation. "When and where?"

"In about an hour, in one of the rooms at the Three Broomsticks." Harry said.

"Alright then, we still have a bit of time. I think it's time for you to continue our lessons Harry." Sirius started walking and waved for Harry to follow.

What followed was about ten minutes of walking circles around the pub, trying to look inconspicuous as they tried to identify any points of entry or quick exits from the upper floors. Sirius also pointed out the few Aurors who were patrolling the area. Harry could see two, who were looking very official and Auror-like, but Sirius discreetly nodded at several others who easily blended in with the crowd. They also kept their eyes peeled for anyone else suspicious, in case Malfoy brought his own people, but there only seemed to be the students and villagers here this day.

"Sirius..." Harry asked slowly, "My dad… didn't actually say any of that… right?"

Sirius frowned, then went pale at what Harry was asking, "Sh- I mean, sorry. No. I was trying to get your friends away and then I took it a little too far. That was really insensitive of me, I'm really sorry."

"It's fine." Harry tried to let out a laugh, "You were right, I was being an idiot. There's something else I wanted to ask."

Sirius stopped in the middle of another apology, "What is it?"

"Is it true my dad fought alongside Dumbledore, during the war?" Harry finally blurted out the question that had been burning in his mind for days.

"Yeah." Sirius said looking surprised. "I thought I had mentioned it."

Harry shook his head. Sirius had told stories of that time while off on their missions alongside Moody, without going into some of the gorier details. However, Harry had always presumed it had been for Professor Riddle. He knew long ago that Dumbledore had led the war effort, but somehow had never connected his father to it.

"He wasn't so bad as he is now." Sirius said, "Dumbledore, I mean. He was just a former professor of Hogwarts, just having joined the Ministry and not really making any waves. Then he led the argument for the British Ministry to take a stance against Grindelwald, which wasn't that well received back then. Fawley, the Minister of Magic at the time, was reluctant to openly oppose the Crowking, hoping the matter would just settle itself. But he did give Dumbledore just enough resources to discreetly aid Europe, to 'hurry it along', as he's quoted as saying. Then came the result nobody expected."

"What happened?" Harry leaned in curiously.

"Dumbledore actually managed an impossibly good job." Sirius let out a laugh, sounding disbelieving even after all these years. "Win after win for the governments opposing Grindelwald, all secretly thanking a mysterious organisation that seemed to have popped out from nowhere. Once Fawley caught on to what was going on, he immediately claimed credit for his foresight to send in Dumbledore. Since the tides of war seemed to be turning, the public opposition wasn't as great when Fawley pledged to join in a more official manner."

Harry scrunched his face in thought, the tip of his finger on the letter in hos robes. It didn't make sense, if Dumbledore and Grindelwald were really working together, why would they have fought on opposite sides? But… 'an impossibly good job', was Dumbledore actually that good or maybe… "So what happened? They can't have managed to defeat Grindelwald because..."

Because Harry's parents wouldn't have been murdered otherwise. Sirius grimaced at the same thought, "Well they did and they didn't. This was before my time, the first war broke out in the fifties and by the end of it both sides had lost a lot of people. It's not really clear exactly what happened, but it sort of just… stopped. There wasn't a decisive blow separating the victors from the losers, they knew Grindelwald and his followers were out there somewhere, but they weren't making a move. There were rumours that the King of Crows had died, but no one could properly celebrate. Everyone was tense, waiting for the next attack and it finally came when everyone was starting to relax again almost a decade later."

"So this time it went on for… almost forty years?" Harry frowned as he did the calculation in his mind.

"No. The same thing happened over and over again. They kept popping up like a bad Doxy infestation, then disappearing again just as suddenly. The later ones were never as bad as the first, until the very last one. It wasn't until..." Harry unconsciously raised his hand to touch the scar on his forehead. "Yeah… What did you ask again? Right, Dumbledore. Yeah, everyone looked up to him back then. Only… him and Riddle never seemed to get along, I think it's because Dumbledore never got over the whole Slytherin thing Riddle has going on…."

Sirius didn't know. Professor Riddle had kept the information from his mother a secret, only telling Professor McGonagall and now Harry. "What about you?"

"Oh, I helped James from time to time, but Riddle was also leading his own fight against the Zeugen. I took my orders from him instead of Dumbledore." Sirius said quietly. "James did help out Professor Riddle as well, but discreetly. We never believed all the rumours about Riddle having a dark side. Well, that's a lie. I came to Hogwarts loathing the man before I'd even met him, just because he was a Slytherin. But he was always decent to me and after a few years at Hogwarts I'd actually grown to like him. I'm honestly glad I stuck with him. I'm not saying Dumbledore didn't do his share of good for the wizarding world, but these days… I don't know, I can't exactly put my finger on it, but… like the fact that he stuck you with that bloody charm for one thing. The man knows what he wants and is prepared to step on a few dozen innocent toes to get it. And for the most part, people let him. Honestly, if it had been Dumbledore that landed the killing blow against Grindelwald, half the wizarding world would be lining up to declare him emperor of Europe, or something like that."

"So, what do you know about Lucius Malfoy?" Harry had to quickly change the subject, in case he blurted out the secret Professor Riddle had trusted him with. If Riddle had meant for Sirius to know, he'd already know.

Sirius' face scrunched up in distaste, "Hmph, would sooner trust a poisonous viper. He's a bit like Dumbledore in some ways, see how both of them started making their move just hours after you… er… you know..."

Harry quickly pushed the memory away, "But he's definitely working against Dumbledore?"

"It seems that way. But that doesn't mean he's on our side." Sirius snorted. "Hopefully they'll take each other out and leave you out of it."

"What about the whole 'Educating Muggles' thing Dumbledore is proposing?" Harry asked.

Sirius sighed heavily, "That is something a lot of people would like to know as well… They're keeping the details tightly under wrap and leaking tiny bits of information that sounds all well and good and people are lapping it up. Especially when they throw in your name saying it would be what you would want."

"But it's not!" Harry said heatedly.

"It's what Dumbledore wants them to print." Sirius shrugged. Then he lowered his voice into a barely audible whisper. "I know how you feel, but remember the story we need to stick to. You can't say anything that might make people think you want to reconcile with the Dursleys."

Harry allowed himself to sulk for a moment, then he just let out a tired sigh, "I think we should head inside."

He showed Sirius the note that Harry had found inside one of his textbooks yesterday. He had no idea when Malfoy had got it in there, since he kept his distance like Harry had asked. He kept his head down when walking into the pub. A few familiar faces he had seen around Hogwarts, none he knew by name, gave him a brief look before turning to their own business. After all, they didn't get the chance to visit Hogsmeade that often, it would have been a waste of their time to stare and gossip about Harry Potter, when it could be just as easily done at the castle. Sirius earned a few curious glances from the crowd, most of them had read an article or two of Harry's Auror missions last year and knew that Sirius was sort of a mentor and a friend, and no one seemed to find them being together suspicious. Harry was glad he didn't walk in here with Malfoy, that definitely would have caused an outbreak of rumours.

They headed straight for the stairs since they already knew where they were headed, at least Sirius did. It wasn't the same room they had used last summer for Harry's birthday celebrations, but an almost identical one a few doors down. Sirius muttered a few charms before knocking sharply.

"You're late Potter-" the door opened and a slightly irritated voice called out before stopping abruptly. Malfoy, the younger one, raised his eyes to Sirius. "What is _he_ doing here?"

"You never told me I couldn't invite anyone." Harry shrugged.

"This is a sensit-" Draco stopped himself and drew in a slow breath. "Father, Potter is here… with Sirius Black."

"Let them inside." Draco sent Harry a scathing look but listened to his father and stepped aside.

Lucius Malfoy was there, with his dark elegant robes. He gave them a smile and, unlike his son, showed no signs of surprise that Sirius had turned up with Harry. "Mr. Potter, _Mister_ Black. Good day to you both."

Sirius' jaw tightened, "Malfoy."

"Well now, why don't you both take a seat? I've already ordered some food for us. I'm sure there is something to your liking." Lucius gestured to the chairs opposite his own.

Harry took a step forwards but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Wait."

Sirius took out his wand, eliciting a small flinch from the younger Malfoy, and began to prod and tap on everything including the chairs, table and cutlery. He then began to fill up two plates with a small quantity of the selection of food laid out. Before Harry could eat or drink anything, he took out a bottle from his robes and sprinkled a bit into everything and stood back, as if he was expecting an explosion.

Harry watched in amusement as Draco almost started quivering with rage. Harry had to bite his lip as Sirius' actions reminded him very strongly of someone they both knew, and as quietly as he could manage he muttered, "A bit 'Moody', isn't it?"

There was a pause and Sirius let out a harsh cough, which was unmistakably hiding a laugh. He turned sightly to Harry, giving him a look of warning, but the corner of his lips were raised into a half smile. Lucius watched on, but unlike his son didn't seem annoyed, with a sly look in his eyes he said, "If I had been planning to poison you, I can assure you I would have employed a toxin not so easily detectable."

Sirius' hand froze, then he pushed both plates away from them. He gave Harry a look that told him not to eat, drink or even touch anything. Lucius shrugged and clapped his hands. There was a popping noise and a house elf appeared and began serving his master. He, at least Harry thought it was a he, faltered slightly when he caught sight of Harry, eyes going wide as his gaze traced the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. He hurried to serve up two more plates for Harry and Sirius, only allowing himself to be confused for a moment at the two plates Sirius had made and quickly vanished them. He gave a deep bow to Lucius, Draco, Sirius and finally Harry, who he practically leapt onto the floor for, giving him a look of such admiration before vanishing again.

Lucius Malfoy was the picture of nonchalance as he raised his cutlery slowly began to eat. He spoke to Harry as if this situation was something completely normal, as if he was one of Draco's friends and that they have had lunches like this every other week, asking about his school work and his Quidditch with a surprising amount of insight into his life. Harry looked at Draco, who wasn't looking as relaxed as his father, and realised that the Slytherin boy had been the one providing his father with all this information.

Sirius was tapping his foot impatiently and eventually cut off Lucius mid-sentence, "Can we get on with it?"

"Certainly." Lucius casually wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin and leaned back against his chair. "So… what to do about a certain Albus Dumbledore..."

"We have no desire to get caught up in this thing between you and Dumbledore." Sirius said quickly.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. Addressing Harry, he asked, "Really? If that is the case what are you doing here Mr. Potter?"

Harry wished he could take a swig of the pumpkin juice in front of him but restrained himself, "I… just wanted to thank you… for… getting me to Hogwarts."

"Perhaps that was a mistake." Mr. Malfoy stated bluntly. "If you are so willing to let Dumbledore carry on with this little scheme of his, you wouldn't have minded watching him do so a little closer to him."

Harry couldn't help but shiver slightly, "No… I-"

"I can still make that happen, if that is what you wish? My friends that decide these little matters, I could contact them and tell them Harry Potter doesn't feel safe under McGonagall's care..." Lucius mused, idly fingering the rim of the goblet.

Sirius slammed a fist onto the table, making the two teenagers flinch. "Do not make empty threats. You did what you did for your own reasons, not for Harry."

"There is no reason not to do things that are beneficial to us both, is there?" Lucius asked with a shrug.

"What… erm..." Harry cleared his throat, "...what exactly is Dumbledore trying to do?"

Lucius frowned, looking uncertain for the first time. "I know little more than everyone else at this point, Dumbledore is keeping everything under wraps. I have heard that a lot of funds have been diverted to the Muggle Liaison Office."

"Congratulations Malfoy, you've managed to work out that Dumbledore's plans with the Muggles involves the Muggle Liaison Office." Sirius snorted derisively.

Draco jerked in his seat, as if he was about to stand up, but before he could speak his father laid a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Lucius continued as if nothing had happened, "If you would allow me to finish? They have also been hiring quite a lot of people. I have attempted to bring in my own people but they always end up being screened out. One of them managed the barest glance inside one of the interview rooms, she told me that they're having them dress as Muggles. And I mean beyond the usual dismal effort they put into these things."

Sirius frowned, but didn't say anything. Harry carefully considered what he had heard. He had never seen first hand the so called 'dismal effort' of wizards and witches trying to blend in with Muggles, but had heard such things from his friends. Muggles rarely encountered wizards and if they were seen, either in robes or mismatching Muggle attire, they would either be dismissed as odd and in the worst case scenario, an Obliviation Charm would fix most things. The only reason for them to put more effort into being seen as 'normal' would be… "They're planning on sending them into the Muggle world, integrate them in a more permanent manner..."

Lucius gave him a smile that felt more than a little condescending, "Very good Mr. Potter. We already have a few people in the Muggle world, in the postal system for example, but I believe that Dumbledore plans to have them work in positions to influence them directly, most likely their government, financial institutions and the like."

Sirius looked worried, "But that's… that must be breaking all sorts of rules! It's practically ignoring the Statute of Secrecy! It's.. it's..."

"Ingenious." Lucius said silkily and waved off Sirius' scowl. "It would be a bloodless war. If they manage to pull it off, they could truly have the Muggles under their thumb in a few decades."

"If you're so approving of the plan, why are _you_ here?" Sirius snapped.

"Because… it is a dangerous plan and… I do not think it is the entire plan." Lucius paused to take a sip from his goblet. "As I've said, it's a plan that's likely to take decades, if not longer, to truly work without the risk of reprisal against the wizarding world. But Dumbledore is, by even our standards, a very old man, he does not have the time to see his plan come to fruition. If he were truly working for the good of the wizarding world, I might believe that he wishes to start it without hopes of seeing the results, but he hides a hungry ambition under his wizened old skin. I worry he may attempt a short cut, charms and curses upon influential Muggle figures, that would immediately draw suspicion upon our kind. A suspicion that might grow until the secret war is no longer a secret."

"It would never work." Sirius shook his head. "People would object. Not just our people, but wizarding communities world wide."

"Well it seems our Ministry hasn't objected. If he is working so openly within the Ministry offices, it means he has the Minister's blessing." Lucius countered. "And remember where he works, International Magic Cooperation. He's held the same office for practically his whole political career and he has made a lot of friends worldwide in doing so. He doesn't officially work for the European Ministry, but his word still holds weight there. Perhaps a year ago he wouldn't have been able to carry out this plan but… Your actions, Mr. Potter, has had consequences far reaching."

Harry shuffled guiltily, "But… there isn't anything I can do..."

"Mr. Potter, there is something only you can do." Lucius Malfoy leaned forwards and stared at Harry intently, "Nip this madness in the bud before it grows any further. Go on record to say that you think this idea is foolish. Attack Dumbledore's character, say that you don't believe he should hold a position of power."

"Absolutely not!" Sirius roared. "Are you mad?"

"Why not?" Lucius asked, looking curious. "For one thing, it would most definitely get Dumbledore off your back. Even now I am working to prevent him from being named your guardian. The next time he makes a speech, he wants you standing next to him, nodding along with his words."

Harry was at a loss of what to say. He certainly couldn't tell him the real reason. Sirius spoke up for him, "Harry's too young to be involved in any of this. Besides, if Albus Dumbledore is as ruthless as you're making him out to be, speaking out like that would make him a target. He just needs to keep his head down until this whole business with… Riddle is sorted."

"Riddle had no involvement with the incident last year." Lucius said, his gaze boring into Harry's eyes. Harry grimaced and looked away. "Riddle wishes him no more harm than you do Black, and we all know it. Was it Grindelwald's remnants? They've certainly been active last year. Or has it been Albus Dumbledore himself? He has found himself in a powerful position. With the Zeugen attacks and the following raids, people are reminded of his accomplishments during the war. With his own daughter almost killed he has their sympathy. Now with you, Mr. Potter, he has a cause that people will rally under."

Sirius stood up, lightly tugging Harry by the robes. "We're leaving Harry."

Harry quickly followed Sirius to the door. He turned briefly when Lucius spoke, "I cannot hold back the tides alone, Mr. Potter. Your inactions will do far more damage than you have done with your wand."

"Harry!" Sirius called and they left the room without another word.

* * *

"Harry." he slowly turned around to face Ginny. She was standing with Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevey. Luna still seemed to be sporting that slightly dazed expression she had when he had first met her, but Colin seemed completely different. His usual look of awe and admiration had gone and Harry knew it wasn't just from him growing up. It was the same change Harry had seen in Justin. He had recently managed to drag out from a very reluctant Hermione that the Muggleborns attending Hogwarts had all been enduring being asked some very ludicrous questions, if their parents treated them as badly as Harry's aunt and uncle. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Harry looked at her warily, her expression was too serious for his liking. He doubted it was going to be about Quidditch. "About what?"

Ginny didn't answer right away and nodded at her friends, who said their goodbyes to them and headed off towards the Great Hall. She then started dragging a reluctant Harry the other way. They reached a secluded part of the castle, the students were mostly heading for lunch and there were no ghosts or portraits that might eavesdrop on them either. Now it was Ginny who was looking hesitant, but she seemed to muster up some courage and asked in a rush, "Why were you meeting with Lucius Malfoy?"

Harry felt him stomach drop, but he tried to keep his shock from showing on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about Ginny."

"Luna saw you in the Three Broomsticks." Ginny looked more disappointed than anything else. "She also saw Lucius Malfoy arrive to request a private room and you and Sirius were the only ones to head up there. Don't worry, she said no one else noticed and she only told me. And Colin, he overheard us, but he won't say anything to anyone."

Harry turned his head sharply, looking down the corridors even though he knew they were alone. "It's… complicated."

"I'm sure it is." Ginny said irritably, then her expression softened. "Look, I know you've been through a lot but you don't need to turn to people like Malfoy for… whatever it is you're looking for."

She stared at Harry with her bright eyes with such intensity that for a moment Harry was lost for words, but then what she said caught up with him. He stepped back and crossed his arms, "Like I said… it's complicated. And don't worry, I'm not falling in with Malfoy's crowd if that's what you're thinking."

She nodded as if she had expected just as much, then she took a step forwards. She raised a hand and gently touched the side of his arm. "Do you remember my first year, your second year at Hogwarts?"

Harry stared at her hand and nodded dumbly. It wasn't something easy to forget, they had made a mess of things poking their noses in places they should have left alone. "What about it?"

"Do you remember what happened, not just to me, but to most of the students and staff?" Ginny reminded him. "We were at each other's throats. No one was too badly hurt, but it so easily could have happened. It was a miracle no seventh year resorted to Unforgivable Curses. You don't need to feel any more guilty about what happened with your relatives, than the rest of us have to feel about that year."

Harry stared at her kind, understanding eyes just on the verge of nodding in agreement. Then he recoiled back, His last year, everything that happened with Corinne flashed before him. She had approached him, maybe not with the same kindness at the start, but with the same words of understanding. He still didn't know if she had betrayed him, or if she had been used by Grindelwald, but Harry couldn't help the connection he still felt for her. He would continue to feel that until he discovered what had happened to her.

And here was Ginny Weasley, Harry didn't think she was using him or being used by someone else, but how could she stand here and claim she understood what Harry was going through when she didn't even know the whole story. Ginny flinched back at Harry's cold stare, "Like I said, it's complicated."

Lucius Malfoy was right, Harry had to do something. What the hell was he doing, sitting around doing schoolwork when the world seemed to be crumbling around him. He had listened to Professor Riddle's warnings to stay quiet so far, to wait for others to clean up his mess and discover the truth. For Merlin's sake, he was even relying on bloody Snape and he hated it, he hated every second of it. All to keep people from discovering the bloody prophecy about him, a prophecy he didn't even know if he would be able to avoid. Maybe it was inevitable. Maybe in the end, people would speak about him along the same lines as Grindelwald, like they were speaking about Tom Riddle now, but for now he still had a desire to do what was right.

Ginny looked hurt and determined at the same time, "Harry I-"

"Look Ginny, thank you for… worrying." Harry cut her off, his expression still needlessly harsh. "But I'm fine. And really, thank you, you've helped me realised something very important."

Ginny looked panicked, "Harry, whatever you're thinking, you really need to talk about what you're thinking. If not me, talk to Ron or Hermione or Sirius or the Headmistress. Someone. Anyo-"

"Ginny." Harry let out a small laugh. "You don't need to worry. I just remembered, there's something I need to do. I'll see you later."

She tried calling him back but he broke into a full run and headed for the Gryffindor Common room. He rushed to his room and let out a sign of relief to find it empty. He locked the door with a tap of his wand and headed over to his trunk. He pulled something out and said Sirius' name.

"Have they found Riddle yet?" by which me meant, have you heard from Professor Riddle?

"No." Sirius replied, understanding his question. "What's going on?"

Harry licked his lips and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Sirius, are you alone?"

"Yes..." Sirius looked wary.

"You have to get me out of here." Harry asked in a rush.

Sirius was instantly alert and leaned forwards, "Did something happen? Are you in danger?"

Harry shook his head, "No… But I can't just sit here waiting any more! At the very least, I should be trying to learn something useful, like I did with you last year."

"Harry..." Sirius sighed heavily. He tapped his fist against his chin and looked as if he was actually considering Harry's words, but in the end he shook his head. "Sorry. Hogwarts is the safest place for you right now."

"What about the things Lucius Malfoy said? Dumbledore's still trying to convince people that he would be best suited to take care of me. That _cannot_ happen." Harry added with a frantic edge to his voice.

"We're doing all we can to make sure that doesn't happen." Sirius tried to say soothingly.

Harry lowered his voice and leaned so that his nose was almost touching the mirror, "Professor Riddle said that if that happened, he'd find a way to get me out of there."

"It hasn't happened yet." Sirius said firmly, then he corrected himself, "I mean- it _won't_ happen."

Sirius seemed to wait for Harry to argue further, but the boy didn't say anything. He just nodded. Harry had pretty much expected this was how the conversation was going to go. He still had to try though and of all the people he trusted, with the means to hide him away from Dumbledore and the Ministry, Sirius was the only one he could think of that would even remotely consider the idea.

There was a sharp knock and Harry heard Ron call his name. He was quite insistent that Harry open the door right now. "Sorry Sirius, I have to go. Ron's here."

"Harry, don't do anything rash." Sirius said in warning. "I know you're impatient, but right now we don't know enough to take action. When we find out what the Zeugen are planning, why they made you attack your aunt and uncle, I'll argue on your behalf. I know what you're capable of, I've seen it the past year. I won't let them make you stand aside so the grown ups can handle everything."

Harry genuinely appreciated the words. He desperately wanted, no _needed_ to do something. Harry honestly had no clue what was going on and he could sense that the others knew little more than he did. Blindly charging ahead was not an option, but as good as Professor Riddle and the other might be at uncovering the answers, Harry knew their enemies were far better at hiding them. If what Professor Riddle's mother had written in that letter was true, Dumbledore had been hiding his true colours from the whole world for decades.

The knocking became louder, "Harry, I know you're in there! Open the bloody door, will you?"

"I'll talk to you later Sirius." Harry said.

Before Harry could put away the mirror, Sirius spoke again. "Harry. Promise me. You won't do anything rash."

"I won't." the lie came out easily enough.

* * *

 **A/N**

Forgot to thank my beta last week. So, thank you Lord Shasta!

Also a thank you to all my readers new and old, finally gone over 200 favourites which is exciting. And one more final thank you to everyone who left a review!

See you all next week!


	44. Year 5 - Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **To an Old and New Home**

It wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be to convince Professor McGonagall to let him spend Christmas with Ron's family. She probably didn't want him moping on his own in the castle like he did during the latter half of the summer, something she was convinced of since she was unaware of his outings under the invisibility cloak. It probably also helped that Harry had wondered out loud, in front of the Weasleys, if he was going to have to spend Christmas alone in this dreary castle. He felt guilty saying it, he had spent some of his best Christmas' here and he had never thought to use 'dreary' to describe the place, but it would be easier this way.

Just as he had thought might happen, they immediately invited him over. Harry had sighed and said he wasn't sure if he would be allowed to, with the possibility of Riddle out for his blood and all. Soon enough, word had gotten around to Mrs. Weasley, who had taken it upon herself to write to Professor McGonagall, asking of Harry's plans over the holidays. Harry waited until the Professor kept him after one of her classes and admitted, in what he hoped was a convincing reluctance, that he'd like to get away from the castle if he possibly could. When she agreed that it would probably be good for him, he had to suppress the desire to whoop in triumph and just gave her a wide grin.

It did, however, obviously require a little bit more planning than it usually did. Professor McGonagall made it clear that she thought that Hogwarts was the safest place he could be right now and that while he was at the Burrow, he would not do anything that would compromise his safety, including leaving the house without supervision. There was also the matter of additional security. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley agreed that it would be for the best and had discussed the matter with the Professor, wondering if they should ask the Ministry for a few Aurors to be present, but McGonagall hastily told them that it would be best if Harry's location would remain a secret as much as possible, even from the Ministry. She managed to convince them that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin would be more than enough to protect Harry and the Weasleys should it come to the worse, and that more importantly, they were two people that Harry would feel comfortable around.

"Harry, are you ready to leave?" Ron asked impatiently.

Harry had his arm stuffed in his truck to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. "Give me another few minutes. Why don't you wait for me in the common room?"

"You really should have packed earlier." Ron muttered and Harry let out a quiet laugh. Ron had only finished his own packing minutes before. "Hurry, or we might miss the train."

In all honesty, Harry had already finished going through his belongings days ago, but he kept double checking everything in case he'd forgotten something. Whatever he left behind, it would probably be some time before he had a chance to get his hands on them again. Harry reminded himself to thank Sirius and Remus for his birthday present, the bag was honestly brilliant, although if they knew what he was planning they would probably regret getting it for him. He was leaving most of his books behind, he couldn't really imagine there was going to be a point where he would have to consult his school textbooks. More importantly, despite the magic in the bag, cramming all of his books inside still caused it to weigh uncomfortably on his shoulder.

He had the most important things, clothes, a considerably amount of money, both wizarding and Muggle, and food, largely in the form a sweets he had purchased during a trip to Hogsmeade leading up to the Christmas holiday. Hermione looked outraged and Ron impressed (and hopeful) and the amount of chocolate Harry bought from Honeydukes that day, to which Harry replied that there were a lot of people he needed to get presents for.

But the most important thing he was taking, the object he couldn't even consider his plans without, was the invisibility cloak that he was… borrowing from Corinne. With the tiny lingering uncertainty about Corinne's allegiance, Harry spent some time the last few weeks scouring through the library, researching spells about detecting hexes, jinxes and curses placed on objects, trying to ignore the fact that he probably should have done this sooner considering how often he had used it during the summer.

It didn't matter much in the end as most of the texts on the subject were geared towards the older students, some of it possibly beyond Hogwarts altogether. He did manage to find what was described as the 'moste basic magick to detect darke spells'. He had tried the spell on one of the Nose-Biting Teacups he had gotten from Zonko's and he managed to get it to flash a very pale shade of purple, although he half thought it might have been due to a passing cloud. After practising this spell for several days on the teacup, he finally sacrificed one of his lunch hours, when he knew the dorms would be empty, to try it on the cloak.

He took out the secret box (another gift from Corinne) intending to see if he could place it inside his bag, and took the cloak out of it. The he laid the shimmering cloak on top of the box. After taking he deep breath, Harry quietly whispered the spell. He went pale and almost dropped his wand. No, he was most definitely sure that this time it was only a trick of the light. It was much harder to tell when the object he was checking for curses was shimmering and gleaming through several shades every time he blinked. He picked it up and carried it over closer to the window, hoping the light would make it clearer and attempted the spell again. This time nothing happened. He repeated this several time for about ten minutes, until he was absolutely positive it was curse free, or as positive as he could be while being a complete novice in the matter.

Still, he had used it enough times and suffered no ill effects. He had been poked and prodded physically by Healers at St Mungo's and Snape had delved into his mind a few times. Neither mentioned any ill effects from any malicious curses, other than what happened to his memories which Snape constantly pointed out. Harry was sure that even though Snape hated Harry as much as Harry hated him, he was unlikely to keep his mouth shut had something been wrong with him.

Harry glanced at the door, making sure it was closed, before he opened the bag and the little enchanted box that he was able to easily transfer from his trunk. He took out the cloak and held it carefully in his hands. Whenever he listened to Sirius and Remus reminisce about what they got up to with James and his invisibility cloak, Harry would wonder what he and his friends might have been able to do if it had been passed onto him. They had laughed about the pranks they might have been able to pull. Even Hermione, who pursed her lips at the though of breaking the rules, had mused about the idea of browsing the restricted section of the library.

Harry carefully stashed the cloak back inside and pulled out the only other thing he kept in there. A single envelope. Professor McGonagall had taken all the letters he had received from Corinne, they were trying to reverse the spell that caused all the writing to vanish, but Harry managed to keep hold of one of the envelopes. He didn't really need it, he had already memorised the address that was printed on it, but he had kept it anyway.

His questions were always answered the same way, that they were still looking for her, that they hadn't found anything or anyone at her house. There were more people searching for her now, since she hadn't returned to Beauxbatons for her final year without contacting anyone. They had told Harry that there was a simmer of a rumour going around. A few people remembered how she and Harry were close last year and like with what had happened to Harry, they were wondering if Riddle had anything to do with the French girl's disappearance.

There was a loud banging that made Harry jump a foot into the air, and he managed to stuff everything inside and shut his bag just as the door opened. Harry turned, with an angry scowl on his face which disappeared the instant he saw who was standing by the door. Harry didn't think before blurting out, "Snape?"

The Potions Professor didn't look very pleased at Harry not addressing him by his proper title, but didn't do anything other than send him a fierce scowl, which unsettled Harry. Snape just motioned him forwards and said, "Get your things, Potter. We're leaving. _Now_."

The authoritative tone made Harry take an automatic step forwards, but then he stopped. This was the _Gryffindor_ common room, what the hell was Snape doing in here? "You can't be in here… This isn't your house, you can't just-"

"I have permission from the Headmistress." Snape said sharply. He gazed at Harry intently, glanced back at the muttering Gryffindor students that were gathering behind him and said very carefully, "She has asked me to collect you as she remains indisposed… with Albus Dumbledore."

Harry froze. "A..Albus Dumbledore… is here?"

"Yes. And it would be a terrible shame for him if he were to miss you." Snape said, his eyes betraying a restlessness that his voice didn't reveal.

" _Professor_ Snape, this is the Gryffindor common room." a voice called out, strengthened by the murmured agreements around it. "You can't be in here."

Snape's eyebrows twitched in irritation, but Harry quickly cut him off before he could say anything to further antagonise the Gryffindors. "It's fine. Professor McGonagall wants to see me. I need to go with him."

Snape turned, heading towards the door where by now there was quite a crowd gathered, blocking the exit. For a moment the Gryffindors stood there, challenging the intruder in their territory and Snape eventually spat out, "Anyone still in my sights in five seconds will be spending every single day in January with me in detention."

There was a pause, then most of the students scattered. Only a few people remained, including Ron who stared at Snape with open hostility. Snape didn't follow up on his threat and merely walked pass them with only a glare back at Harry, telling him to hurry. Harry put his bag over his shoulder and followed him.

"Harry." Ron stopped his friend with a firm grasp on his arm. He lowered his voice into a whisper, "What's going on? And don't tell me it's just McGonagall wanting you. You look pale, like you've just seen a crow..."

Harry grinned weakly, "It's all true… She told me to expect something like this… I think it has something to do with… Riddle."

"Did they find him?" Ron paled. "Have they spotted him near here?"

Harry quickly shook his head, "I don't think so. Maybe. But they said that they might have to move me somewhere safe."

"Potter!" Snape called out impatiently.

Ron frowned, "But… are you coming to the Burrow then?"

"I don't know… It might be nothing, in which case I'll be spending Christmas with your family… but..." Harry trailed off. He took Ron's hand off his arm and gripped it tightly, "Just in case I don't see you until… term starts again… Merry Christmas Ron. Give my best wishes to your mum and the rest of your family as well."

Harry went down the stairs, encountering Hermione on the way but only said a quick, "Merry Christmas." and "Talk to Ron." before hurrying to catch up the Potions Professor. He was already on the other side of the portrait and down the corridor.

"What's happening?" Harry asked in a whisper.

Snape waited until the corridor was empty of other students before answering, and even that in the quietest voice Harry had ever heard from the man, "You are going to leave the school grounds, once outside the wards there will be someone to meet you there. They will be Apparating you to a safe location from there."

"Where? And who is it?" Harry asked with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.

"I do not know." Snape looked agitated, "But anywhere would be better than with Albus Dumbledore..."

Harry was taken aback at the amount of hatred and disdain in Snape's tone at speaking the man's name. He fidgeted with his robes then he stopped walking and gasped. "You _know!_ "

Snape whirled around and took in the position of Harry's arms. He made a grab for the boy and pulled his arm away from his robes. "And _what_ Potter, do I know exactly?"

Harry blinked in confusion staring at the hand with a tight grip on his arm. "I.. I.. don't know… What… I can't..."

"I know _this_ Potter." Snape said harshly as he let go of Harry's arm. "There are thoughts dangerous enough that one should not allow to linger in the mind in such a public place. All the Occlumency training in the world is worthless, if you choose to act with such carelessness."

"I… right..." Harry said with no idea what Snape was talking about, but feeling like he understood at the same time. Snape's glare lingered on Harry's robes for a moment before he turned again.

"When you arrive at… wherever it is you are taken, you are to stay there. You are not to go gallivanting on your own, nor are you to convince Black to take you somewhere. Professor McGonagall has already spoken to him on the matter and expressly forbidden him to do so." Snape stated firmly, "Do I make myself clear?"

Harry worked his jaw, but was too irritated to respond properly. He merely gave Snape a jerky nod. They walked the rest of the way in silence until they reached the top of the stairs leading down to the entrance hall. There Snape let out a word that he would have deducted points for if he had heard it from any student. Two wizards were standing there blocking the exit to the castle. Snape grabbed Harry by the shoulders and quickly turned him around, leading him down another path.

"Dumbledore must have anticipated you may try to leave..." Snape muttered. "In the dungeons, there is an escape route to the grounds."

Snape led Harry down secret doorways and corridors that he had never known existed. It was unsurprising since however much he enjoyed wandering around the castle all these years, he had always stopping himself from straying too much into the enticingly titled 'dungeons' of the school. It seemed that not even many of the Slytherins knew these hidden paths, since Harry didn't encounter any of them while following Snape.

Harry suddenly had a thought, "If Dumbledore has people inside the castle… there might be others guarding the gates as well."

"I realise that Potter." Snape snapped. "You will leave the same way the intruder entered the school grounds two years ago. I should be able to remove any protective charms that have been placed on it..."

Harry vaguely remembered what was little more than a hole in the ground, but Harry was more than happy to crawl through mud and worse if it meant his freedom. "I thought that incident was reported to the Aurors. Won't Dumbledore know about it?"

Snape didn't make a response, but he started moving slightly faster. They eventually reached a statue that was pretending to be a painting and slid behind it by hugging the walls. They walked for about a minute through the narrow gap up a set of steep stairs to find themselves outside near the back of the castle. Harry started to run, but Snape quickly caught him by the arm. "If you could try not to rouse too much suspicion?"

They went steadily, passing by several students that were heading for the gates and had to take a detour or hide behind something when they saw more of Dumbledore's people waiting on the grounds.

They eventually got close enough to the escape route that Harry could see it, but so could someone else. A witch was standing over the exact spot, peering down curiously and running the tip of her boot over the concealed passageway.

"A Stunner?" Harry suggested, taking out his wand.

Before he could do anything, someone grabbed his my the scruff of his neck. " _Potter!_ What are you doing here? Why were you aiming your wand at her?"

"What are you doing?" Harry hissed in disbelief at Snape, who had shouted loudly enough that the startled witch had lifted her head to look in their direction. She had instantly recognised Harry and was hurrying over to them.

"Potter, I just asked you a question!" Snape bellowed, seeming unconcerned about who heard him. "Were you just about to assault someone?"

" _Have you lost your bloody mind!_ " Harry's words were accompanied by a swift elbow to Snape's gut, causing him to grunt and let go of Harry. The boy turned and started to run away from the witch – and straight into Albus Dumbledore.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Here you are." the old man smiled at him.

Behind Dumbledore Harry saw Professor McGonagall's expression crumple in distress. A wizard and a witch were flanking them both. Snape looked mildly surprised at Dumbledore, "Mr. Dumbledore, to what does Hogwarts owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I'm here for Mr. Potter, of course." Dumbledore said. "You say Mr. Potter was trying to escape?"

"Escape? I do not know. I just saw him skulking around the grounds, then he took out his wand and aimed it at her. Given what he has already done with that wand of his, I put a stop to it before he could harm anyone else." Snape had a mildly bored expression and was completely ignoring the furious glare Harry was giving him. A cold smile appeared on the Professor's face, "Since you are still on school grounds and term doesn't end for… another hour or so, I believe it would only be right for you to be punished. Don't you agree… Headmistress?"

McGonagall's eyes flashed. "You say he was about to attack her?"

"Yes..." Snape crossed his arms and nodded. "Ah… the secret passageway that was discovered two years ago. Perhaps you are correct Mr. Dumbledore. I wouldn't put it pass Potter, brains have never been a strong suit for him. If he had stopped to think it would have been obvious there would be spells protecting anyone from entering. Even if by some miracle Potter had the ability to remove such enchantments, it would have taken him far too long to do so, someone would have noticed."

It became clear to Harry that Snape was giving Harry an explanation for his actions from a moment ago, but Harry still felt angry at him. They could have still tried.

"Well," McGonagall cleared her throat, "if Mr. Potter is acting out and having these… urges to hurt people, I think it best he return to St. Mungo's and have the Healers check him out again."

"Nonsense!" Dumbledore laughed heartily. "Young Harry here just needs some assurances of stability in his life. And I'm sure he would be more than happy to begin the holidays by paying his respects to his parents."

"My what…?" Harry felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Your parents, my dear boy!" Dumbledore replied. "They are buried in Godric's Hollow. Surely someone has taken you there before now?"

Harry turned his head to Professor McGonagall who's shocked expression turned to one unmistakably of guilt. Harry even forgot the advice not to stare into Dumbledore's eyes as he searched the old man's face for the truth. "No… I haven't been to seen them… before..."

"Well then… now is a good time as any." Dumbledore had a glint in his eyes.

Harry quickly shook his head and broke eye contact. "No. I don't want to see them."

Dumbledore regarded him then he said softly, almost making Harry believe he genuinely cared about the boy, "I don't think that is the truth. You don't need to feel ashamed for what Tom Riddle or your relatives have done to you. I knew your parents well Harry, and they would be proud to see what you have become."

Harry sent a pleading look towards McGonagall, asking her for help. Her frame tensed and the hand holding her wand twitched. She looked at Snape and Harry turned in time to see the man give her the tiniest hint of a nod. Harry held his breath, trying to slowly move his hand towards his own wand as well.

"Mr. Dumbledore, I see you've managed to track him down." an Auror, leading a group of three more, stepped forwards. "I think we should hurry, they will be wondering why we're late."

"They?" Harry asked nervously.

"Security. The Ministry has offered their services to make sure not one hair on your head comes to harm while in Godric's Hollow." Dumbledore said smoothly.

Harry looked around. Albus Dumbledore, as well as six others that accompanied him were surrounding Harry and the two professors. To try anything in front of these capable looking men and women would be suicide. He also entertained the idea of pulling the invisibility cloak out of his bag, covering himself and just trying to make a run for it. In fact he felt a very strong urge to do just that. He knew it was a very stupid idea, doing so in front of this many people would undoubtedly get him caught before he could even take a dozen steps.

Harry quickly spoke before Professor McGonagall, who looked fiercely determined, could do something that could get herself hurt, "Alright… Mr. Dumbledore… Let's go..."

"Potter!" McGonagall practically shrieked and everyone turned to stare at her. "Erm… Molly will be disappointed you won't be spending Christmas at the Burrow..."

"Molly?" Dumbledore asked.

"Molly Weasley. Harry is friends with her youngest son." Professor McGonagall said with a strained smile. "She and her husband were both looking forwards to having Harry over."

"And they won't be disappointed. I see no reason Harry can not see his friends." Dumbledore smiled. "I shall visit Arthur myself at work and offer a personal apology. I am sure he will understand. But for now, I think he should get settled in his new home."

"But… But..." McGonagall bit her lips.

"I understand you feel protective of him, but really this is for the best." Dumbledore said smoothly. "Now, best not to waste any more time. Ah… how about… I do not think you would ever have had a chance to experience something like this… Fawkes!"

Harry just about managed to stop himself from shouting out in fright when the bird appeared in a flash fire, hovering above all of them. It regarded Harry with a curious tilt of it's head and unblinking eyes before turning back to face Dumbledore.

"Take us to Godric's Hollow, old friend. It is time for Harry to go home." Dumbledore intoned. Fawkes the Phoenix remained still apart from the slow rhythmic beating of it's wings. Harry didn't count the ability to read the expressions of animals, magical or otherwise, amongst his skills, but he got the feeling of reluctance radiating from the creature. Everyone was staring at it, some in awe, but but most were confused at the Phoenix's lack of action. Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, "Fawkes."

With a shrill cry it descended onto Harry, gripping his arms with it's talons. Before Harry could even let out a yelp, his vision filled with intense light. What Harry felt next was one of the strangest sensations he had ever experienced. It felt similar to travelling by floo, for obvious reasons, but it had none of the mess of the ash blowing against his face and into his mouth, nor the unpleasant bumps of fireplaces jabbing into the parts of his body that he failed to tuck in sufficiently. It was the sensation of burning with none of the pain, it was the light of a dozen suns without the blinding sharpness in his eyes. It was, ironically, one of the most pleasant methods of magical transport he has ever experienced, but it still did nothing to loosen the tight knot that had formed in his stomach.

The arrival was smooth, he didn't stumble at all, and as soon as he felt the solid ground under his feet he took a step, preparing to break into a run, and crashed into something solid.

"Potter." a gruff voice grunted. "I thought I taught you better than that."

"Moody!" Harry cried in relief at seeing a familiar face. He took a step back and immediately tensed again, there were several people standing all around them.

The old Auror frowned, looking around. "Where's Dumbledore then?"

"He… erm-" just then Fawkes, who had detached itself from Harry the moment they arrived, gave out another cry and vanished with a burst of flames.

"What's ruffled _his_ feathers?" Moody muttered. "We'll wait for Dumbledore then, shall we?"

For the next few minutes, Harry spent the time shaking hands with the witches and wizards, who introduced themselves as the Order of the Phoenix. They were the ones that stood by Dumbledore as Grindelwald spread his darkness upon the land. Many of them gave Harry firm promises that he would come to no harm as long as they still breathed. He felt a little conflicted as they seemed to be nice people genuinely concerned with his safety, it was just who they took orders from that Harry had a problem with.

Several pops of varying degrees of volume echoed in the air as Albus Dumbledore appeared, followed by the others that had been at Hogwarts. The old man gave a slight shake of his head in lieu of an explanation, "No problems here I assume?"

"None." Moody replied. "Doubt the Minister of Magic himself would get more protection if he decided to visit."

"Very good. I think I said we would visit your parents. Come along now, Harry." Dumbledore tried to walk besides Harry, but he either slowed his pace or jumped forwards to prevent that from happening. Eventually, Dumbledore gave up and contented himself by walking a few steps behind Harry, while still trying to engage him in conversation. Harry only replied with vague grunts and mumbles, or slight movements of his head that he wasn't even sure the man behind him would be able to see. Not that he cared.

"He's disappointed that he can't spend Christmas with his friend." the witch that had been guarding the hole in the ground explained to the rest of the group. "He's still only a teenager, after all."

Harry's face reddened slightly as a few of the people surrounding him gave quiet chuckles. She was making Harry out to be some sort of petulant child and he had to admit he was acting like one. But he sure as hell wasn't going to give Dumbledore the impression that he was going to make it easy for him.

He paid little attention to Dumbledore or the quietly chatting members of the Order and looked around the quiet village. Little cottages lined the street they were walking down. The sun was up but Harry could make out the smattering of Christmas decorations on most of the houses as well as the light dusting of snow on the rooftops. He imagined it would look all pretty and quaint come nightfall. This was Godric's Hollow, the place where his parents had a home. The place he would have grown up in, had they still lived.

They neared a little square in the centre of the village, with some shops and quite a few people wandering about. Harry presumed they were Muggles by the way they dressed, but no one gave the group of a dozen or so people in full wizard attire a second glance. As the Muggles turned their heads towards them, their gaze seemed to slide over the group without even registering their existence. In the middle of the square they stopped in front of what Harry had thought had been a monument of some sort.

Harry let out a shaky gasp as the stone transformed before his eyes. It was now a statue of two… no three people. Two people he recognised instantly from all the photographs he had seen of his parents and the third, a little baby sitting atop his mother's lap. "W..what is this?"

"A little something that shows how grateful we are of your mother and father's sacrifice." Dumbledore replied softly.

Other than a few sniffles, they all remained completely silent as Harry tried to etch each curve and line of the life size figures standing there, his father looking proud and his mother with an expression so tender. Maybe it was because it had caught him by surprise, but it felt so much more real than going to visit their graves, where he had imagined himself standing in front of a headstone above a patch of grass wondering if his parents were truly down there, six feet under. But the statue really was showing that this place, this little village, was where they had fought and fallen, and the stone too weathered and the silence too reverent for this whole situation to be something rehearsed for the benefit of Harry.

It could have been five minutes or half an hour, but with great effort he finally managed to finally turn away from his parents and without knowing exactly where he was heading, The group moved alongside him, thankfully turning as one in the right direction. They kept quiet as they reached the gates of the graveyard next to the church.

"Hold on a moment, Potter." Moody said as he gestured with his hand to the others. They split up, a few pushing pass the gates and the rest following the stone wall that surrounded the place with their wands raised and their heads swivelling in all directions.

Harry waited there with Moody and Dumbledore until the others returned. They all gave a short nod to the two wizards and Dumbledore returned one in satisfaction, "The place is safe. I think we can afford a little privacy for Harry. Alastor and I will go with him, the rest of you keep watch outside."

There was a feeling of unnatural stillness that settled over him the moment he stepped pass through the gates. It felt wrong that the sun could shine in such a place full of the dead. Harry didn't realise he had frozen on the spot and Moody gently pushed him along, for once without a gruff remark. The names on the passing stones blurred pass his vision, his breath steadily growing heavier until they stopped before a set of two brilliantly white marble tombstones.

"Take your time Harry." Dumbledore said as he laid a hand over Harry's shoulder, but he didn't notice. He didn't even realise it when Dumbledore and Moody both walked off, leaving him alone.

JAMES POTTER LILY POTTER

BORN 27 MARCH 1960 BORN 30 JANUARY 1960

DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981 DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The last enemy… that shall be destroyed… is death? What did that mean? He tried concentrating at the words, but he knew that it was just a distraction. He had been wrong. This wasn't awkward. He didn't feel a sliver of doubt as to what lay beneath his feet, under the damp patch of grass and dirt. Harry fell onto his knees, tracing the letters of his mother's name, then his father's with his trembling fingers.

"Mum… Dad..." Harry started, then he didn't know what else to say. He had imagined, more times than he could remember, what he would say if by some miracle he had the chance to do so, but all those fanciful scenarios seemed inadequate now that he was here. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, but he couldn't stop the shaking in his shoulders. With a shuddering exhale and tears steaming down his eyes, he could only think of one thing to say, "I..I'm sorry… I.. I messed up… I messed everything up..."

Hugging himself tightly, he sobbed against the icy cold stone, feeling closer to his parents than he had ever felt in his life.

* * *

 **A/N**

Alright, so I received quite a few guest reviews that I obviously couldn't reply to directly, so I'm just make a little comment here.

Sasha starr:

Thank you! Although I certainly don't think 300 followers (yay!) is a few. I really hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Erik, M and Guest reviewer who chose to remain nameless (sorry to lump you all in one reply):

First of all, thank you for saying various complimentary things about my story/plot and writing, I really appreciate hearing things like that. As for my portrayal of Harry... *sigh* I don't really know what to say to this. The word 'stupid' has been thrown out a lot, also frustrating, boneheaded, infuriating and 'scared little untalented cry baby'? Also there was a mention that his character is very much in line with canon Harry's characterisation. Yes. I won't deny that.

Look, I like the Harry Potter books, I love them, if I didn't I wouldn't be writing this fic. I like them as they are. I'm not going to argue that they are perfect, there are things I would have liked to have seen in the books, but there is nothing that detracts from my enjoyment when I re-read them. Harry's cluelessness and (sometimes) helplessness isn't one of the things I hate.

I'm not saying this is the 'correct' way to portray Harry, or a protagonist in a story, I certainly enjoy books and other media where a clever main character wields his intelligence to resolve problems, but I also enjoy stories where the character is thrown in to a strange new world and has to discover it alongside the reader, maybe making rash and foolish choices along the way. When I came up with the idea for the story, I made a decision to keep Harry's character as he is in the books and I won't apologise for that. I realise now that it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but even had I known that before I started publishing, I doubt I would have changed Harry's character all that much. If this makes my story unacceptable and unreadable for you, then I'm sorry. I appreciate the time all three of you (any maybe others who have left their opinions unvoiced) have taken to read so far into my story, but I'm not going to change my story for you. Not because I have 211 favourite and 300 followers who seem content with my story, but because this is what I want to write. If this makes you drop my story, so be it. I'll be sorry to see you go, and I truly hope you find a story that better fits your preferences. It shouldn't be that hard, since there are so many HP fanfics out there. Good luck! =)


	45. Year 5 - Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Escape from the Hollow**

"Sirius! Sirius Black!" the sound was barely more than a muffled whisper, but it felt far too loud and echoing for Harry's liking, he didn't want it to reach unwanted ears.

"Harry!" the response was immediate, as if the man had been holding the mirror waiting for Harry to make contact. There was also a clamouring of voices in the background. "I can't see anything, why is it so dar- Will you all shut up! Erm… sorry Professor, I mean I can't hear Harry, could you please keep your voice down?"

Harry felt a slight blush, but he wasn't going to come out from under the sheets. The moment he entered his room, he locked the door and proceeded to use every single spell he knew that would ensure his privacy. Even after all that, he still had an unsettling feeling that everything he did and said in this room would somehow make it's way to Dumbledore. Ignoring the fact that he felt unbelievably childish doing so, he crept into his bed before taking out the mirror and making contact with his friends. One thing he didn't mind though was that the dimness would probably hide the redness in his eyes.

"Hold on a sec..." Harry fumbled for his wand. " _Lumos._ There. I'm alone in… _my_ room at the moment, but keep your voice down… can't be too sure of anything..."

Sirius' worried face disappeared and was replaced with Remus'. "Harry, what was my gift to you on the first Christmas you spent at Hogwarts?"

"What?" Harry frowned. "Why are you asking about that?"

"Just answer me Harry." Remus was insistent.

"You got me a camera. Well you didn't _get_ me one, it was an old one you had." Harry huffed impatiently.

"It's him." Remus turned back to the other voices and sighed in relief.

Sirius snatched the mirror away from his friend and said petulantly, "If you waited five more seconds, I was just about to ask-"

"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall interrupted. "Are you hurt? What has happened? Did he take you to Godric's Hollow?"

"Yeah. I think I'm okay… I saw… I saw my parents' graves..." Harry mumbled quietly.

Sirius paled. "I'm sorry. All these years… I should have- we all should have offered to take you there. We just didn-"

"It doesn't matter." Harry shook his head, or at least as much as he could curled up on the bed. He didn't want to think about it right now, his voice was starting to sound slightly hoarse, "What's the plan? You're going to get me out of here, right?"

"If we do… it won't be in a strictly… legal… manner." Sirius said cautiously. Then he placed the mirror away from him and backed away. Sirius, Remus, Professor McGonagall and, much to Harry's surprise, Snape was there as well. "Dumbledore has that covered, he's convinced the Wizengamot to grant him full custody of you. They say it is for your safety as much as it is for fact that they believe he can act as a parental figure to you."

"What about Lucius Malfoy? He said that he could..." Harry trailed off as he watched the faces of the four people in the mirror turn sour as one.

"Lucius Malfoy withdrew his objections a few days after you refused to follow that ridiculous plan of his." McGonagall snorted. "I believe, Potter, that he is trying to back you into a corner because he believes you will turn to him when you have no other choice."

Harry let out a little involuntary sound of laughter at the fact that he thought he could ever trust a Malfoy. Remus gave a grim smile, "No. You still have us. What's it like over there? Has the other members of the Order left you with Dumbledore?"

"No. Most of them stayed behind." Harry answered.

"That's good..." McGonagall muttered quietly.

Sirius turned and scowled at her. "How is that a good thing? It'll be more difficult to get him out with all of them guarding the place!"

"No, it's..." McGonagall chewed her lip and considered Sirius carefully. Remus looked at her curiously but Snape looked disdainful. "Never mind that now. Harry, you need to tell us everything you can about the place. Layouts, how many people there are, any sort of security charm that you think you might have noticed..."

Harry told them all he could but it wasn't really much. Harry quickly added, "I'll keep my eyes out for anything."

"But do not put yourself in danger Harry." Remus warned. "If they realise you are thinking of escaping, they will tighten security or even move you some place else."

"Perhaps..." Snape spoke for the first time, "It might be better to wait for a better opportunity when the odds are not stacked against us..."

"What do you mean Severus?" McGonagall frowned.

"Dumbledore has agreed that Potter should be allowed to visit the Weasleys..." Snape said. "He is unlikely to have him guarded as tightly as he is in Godric's Hollow..."

McGonagall pursed her lips, "I honestly do not think Albus Dumbledore will let his guard down in such a manner. I also worry about what reprisals the Weasleys may face if Harry is taken under their watch… However..."

"I'm not going to put Ron or his family in danger." Harry said firmly.

McGonagall nodded. "I agree with you, but when it comes down to it, it may be our only chance. For now, we wait another day or two to see what you can find out. As for us, we will have to decide on a place we can hide you away once we get you out of there."

"Hide me away?" Harry asked warily.

"Of course." the Professor's expression was one she reserved for certain students that failed to answer simple questions. "For all intents and purposes, this will be considered a kidnapping. Dumbledore and the Ministry will spare nothing to get you back. If any of us are seen taking you, we will have a cell reserved in Azkaban before we could even blink."

"But..." Harry sent an imploring look towards Sirius, who was shifting uneasily. "I can help and- You teach Transfiguration! And Snape is a Potions Professor! You both know there are ways to disguise people."

" _Professor_ Snape and I both know such means, but it is not worth the risk." McGonagall said sternly. "You are only fifteen Mr. Potter and besides, just because it is unlikely you will return to Hogwarts does not mean you can be lax in your studies. You still have your O.W.L.s at the end of the year and rest assured, I will find some way for you to take the exams."

"O.W.L.s? _O.W.L.s?_ " Hedwig, who had been asleep, let out a small hoot at Harry's raised voice. He ignored his familiar and hissed in irritation at the mirror. "I don't give a damn about the O.W.L.s! There are more important things than my bloody grades!"

McGonagall narrowed her eyes and her lips thinned so much they practically disappeared. "Indeed there are, and if there comes a time when we have need of a fifteen year old to attend to these important matters, I assure you we will consider you first."

Harry turned red and swore. It was quiet but the mirror was close enough for them all to hear his words. He quickly turned the mirror over and cut them off before they could make a reply.

* * *

Living with Albus Dumbledore wasn't at all what Harry had expected. Imagining a life with someone who by all accounts was already over a hundred years old wasn't at all cheerful. He imagined life with the elderly a near infinite amount of tea in ancient mugs, a mountain of boiled sweets and, ignoring the fact that is was a wizard and more importantly Albus Dumbledore for a moment, long hours of day time television. He thought most of his days would go by with only Dumbledore keeping him company, or acting as his jailer. His somewhat unfavourable view on old people turned out to be nothing close to the truth.

The house, or mansion rather, was a constant hive of activity. Members of the Order of the Phoenix were constantly dropping in and out with a few of them stayed on guard for Harry's benefit. When Dumbledore was home, there were also wizards and witches from the Ministry, British and also from further afield, who came to visit to discuss important matters (as Harry was told in a rather condescending manner) with the elder wizard. The Minister of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge, had visited on no fewer than three separate occasions, once being solely to reassure Harry that Riddle would be captured soon and to ask if they boy needed anything, anything at all. There wasn't really much Harry could openly ask for and he didn't really _need_ anything since there were either two or three house elves that did the work of a dozen.

All this meant that Harry didn't have to worry about Dumbledore constantly trying to pry his brain or try to convince him that he was a good man with the best interest of the wizarding world at heart. He hardly saw Dumbledore and he hoped it would continue that way. Harry helped this along by keeping out of the way whenever he knew Dumbledore was around, mostly by confining himself to his room like a moody teenager. It was a very nice room, almost as big as the room he shared with four other people in the Gryffindor Tower. Everything was lavishly decorated in brilliant golds and deep reds as if to declare to the world that a Gryffindor lived there, but Harry didn't like it. Somehow, it was too over the top and knowing that there weren't three other rooms with three different colour schemes balancing the whole thing made it worse. Still, it was his room. At least for now.

Whenever Dumbledore was away, and Harry could tell he was away because he insisted on asking Harry if he would like to accompany him to the Ministry every single time even though the answer was always a no, he would creep out of his room and try to find out anything that might help with his escape. He managed to get to know each member of the Order within a few days, they were all eager to introduce themselves to Harry and were willing to spout out their whole life stories whenever Harry showed the slightest bit of interest. They were even more forthcoming when Harry put on a worried look, bit his lip and asked the person if he or she wouldn't mention this to anyone, then told them in a whisper that he was really worried that Tom Riddle might come for him here. He obviously didn't try this with everyone, someone like Moody would have seen through him in a flash, but he went for those who's eyes watered or voice pitched slightly higher with excitement whenever Harry was around.

They were all quick to reassure him that there was absolutely no way Riddle was going to penetrate the defensive enchantments placed upon the property. A few of them explained some of the defensive spells to Harry, while giving him a tour of the place, but Harry got the impression that most of them didn't really know their way around the place either and they definitely didn't know all that was protecting the building. After Harry and a little wizard named Dedalus Diggle got themselves lost and turned around three times on the third floor, Harry told him that he wanted to get some reading done and headed back to his own room.

"Okay, there's at least five people inside and two patrolling the grounds at all times..." Harry quickly began to whisper as soon as Sirius' face popped up on the mirror. Sirius' half smile at seeing Harry again soon turned to a frown, then into a grimace as he listened to Harry. "That's… all… I think… I wanted to write it down, but I thought it would look a bit suspicious if I started doing that… Well? What do you think?"

Sirius scratched his head and turned to Remus, who wasn't looking any happier than Sirius was. The werewolf let out a sigh, "Everything you've told us makes it seem daunting, but it's what they haven't told you that's more worrying. Do they let you go outside?"

"No." Harry scowled. "Well, not yet at least. I asked Moody this morning If I could stretch my legs and see the village..."

"And?" Sirius asked.

Harry shrugged. "He said he would see what he could do. And that was… about six or seven hours ago? I haven't seen him again since then and no one else I asked knows where he is or anything about me leaving the house, which they tell me is too dangerous."

"If Moody actually told you he was going to try, then there's still the possibility he's working it out..." Sirius said thoughtfully. "But if he's taking six hours to work out a stroll around the village..."

There was suddenly a succession of loud knocks on his door followed by, "POTTER!"

Harry jumped and quickly whispered to Sirius and Remus, "I think that's Moody. I'll call you back later-"

"Potter! I'm coming inside!" Moody growled and tried the door, but Harry had locked it as soon as he stepped inside the room.

"Hold on a second!" Harry shouted, but the sound of the lock clicking open echoed through the room.

Moody stepped through with his wand out, ignoring Harry for a moment and glancing at the corners, out the window and even under the bed. "Right then, not a good idea to leave the door locked Potter, makes it difficult for us if you end up in trouble… Come on then, get up. You said you wanted to go out, we're-"

Moody finally looked at Harry and raised a single eyebrow, then let out a snort. Harry's initial shock was slowly melting away into annoyance and confusion at the way Moody was looking at him. Harry looked down and realised he was in his bed fully covered with just his head peaking out. Harry went bright red, "No… I wasn't… I was just…"

Moody quickly waved off Harry's stuttered excuses, "I was your age once Potter. Just clean up and try and be downstairs in five minutes, will you?"

Harry waited with a scowl until the door closed before throwing off the covers and hiding the mirror in his bag. He shoved the bag underneath his bed and grabbed his coat before stepping outside. He walked noiselessly down the stairs, this was one more thing he found slightly unsettling, the stairs looked and felt like they should creak, but they never did. He paused when he heard a familiar voice he couldn't place exactly.

"Moody..." the voice was hesitant, then it lowered into a whisper, "This… thing Dumbledore is planning… the thing with the Muggles… Is everyone else on board with it?"

Harry stood by the open door to the sitting room. He heard Moody let out a little snort. "It seems a little meddlesome, I'll give you that. Honestly, I think it's best to just leave them be, you get bad eggs everywhere, Muggle or magical. Seems a bit pointless to do what he's planning. Personally, I'd rather we throw in more resources to find Riddle and get rid of the rest of Grindelwald's people."

"But you don't think it's going to cause problems?" the man asked, "I can't help but feel… it sounds a bit too close to what we all fought against..."

Moody clicked his tongue, "It's nothing like that. If anything, it's the other way round. At the rate they're going, in a few decades, they'll all have a whole mess of problems to deal with, problems that'll start to affect the wizarding folk as well. Dumbledore is… what was it he said? 'A little nudge here and there to steer them in the right direction.', something along those lines."

"What does that have to do with… what happened to Harry?" Harry heard the frown in the voice.

"Nothing really." Moody sounded unsure, which was something Harry had never heard from the old Auror. "He mentioned something about spreading good publicity about magic, no idea what that means, and something else about trying to locate Muggleborns sooner, before they get their letters…"

"Moody-" the voice began.

"Look, Gideon." Harry just managed to stop himself from taking a sharp intake of breath as he realised who the voice belonged to. "I know you've had issues with Dumbledore's politics, but you can't deny he's made a difference and for the better… Speak to him, I know you haven't done so in years."

Gideon let out a sigh, "Why did he ask for me? And why, Moody, did you drag me here if he isn't even home?"

"We could always use another wand." Moody explained, "Planning a walk around the village. With Harry."

"And you needed what, the half a dozen waiting outside, plus us two, for that?" Gideon asked incredulously.

"Dumbledore's orders. He's not about to take any chances, not with Riddle, the Zeugen and who knows what else out there." Harry heard a wooden tap, tap, tap and realised it was Moody's leg. "It's a bit excessive… I suppose he's being a tad overprotective with his new ward and all."

"How is he? Harry, I mean." Gideon's voice was kind, making Harry smile. He'd already liked the man, but knowing that he didn't see eye to eye with Albus Dumbledore made Harry like him a little bit more.

"He's fine." there was a pause then Moody let out an evil cackle, "Caught him ma-"

"I'm here!" Harry said, quickly stepping through the door. He looked at Ron's uncle and hoped they'd believe the surprise in his voice, "Gideon! What are you doing here?"

"Giving you a tour of the village apparently." Gideon offered his hand, the left one obviously, and Harry gave it a firm shake.

"How's Kasper?" Harry asked, glad he could remember the little detail even though it had been ages since they met.

Gideon looked surprised and his smile warmed, "He's doing well. Couldn't take time off work, else he would have been here as well. We were planning on dropping by the Burrow at Christmas, we hoped to see you there. I know Molly was looking forwards to having you over..."

"Dum- _Albus_ ," as he insisted Harry call him, "told me he would work something out so I could stay over a few days. Not sure if I'll be there for Christmas day or not though..."

"Let's move this along, shall we?" Moody said as he urged them out the door.

* * *

"No. Really. I'm fine." Harry said bluntly. "I've already had other Healers check me out."

Gideon frowned, "I'm know you had, but I was told that you weren't seen by any specialists concerning the Nullificare Charm."

"I don't have it any more." Harry insisted. Hedwig, who was being held and stroked by her owner screeched slightly at Gideon as if in agreement. "Why does it matter now?"

"It shouldn't… but it won't hurt to double check." Gideon gave him a strange look. "Why are you so reluctant about this?"

It was because Harry wasn't sure what the Healer would be able to discover. He liked Gideon, and would maybe even be on their side if he was told the whole truth, but there was so much that Professor Riddle and the others were working to hide from the rest of the world at the moment. Harry shook his head firmly, "I..I've been poked and prodded by Healers too many times these past few months… I'd rather no go through it again unless it was absolutely necessary. It isn't personal. I'm sorry."

Gideon sighed, but assented. "Will you at least answer a few questions then?"

"What kind of questions?" he had been asked enough questions these past few months as well.

"Like… have you been experiencing any further side effects concerning the Charm?" Harry shook his head at the question. Gideon had several more but Harry was able to answer them easily enough. There weren't any tremors, he wasn't feeling lethargic, his appetite was completely normal and he wasn't experiencing any sudden bouts of accidental magic. The more he thought about it, he was sure that the Charm had done more bad than good. Gideon nodded at Harry's final answer and leaned back, satisfied that Harry wasn't lying about any of it. "I guess you're in the clear… I'd still prefer it if I could cast a few simple spe- No? Fine..."

There was a quiet knock and a witch poked her head inside the room. "Gideon, Dumbledore's back. He's asking you to see him in his office."

Gideon stood up, clearly not looking forward to this meeting. "It was nice seeing you Harry. Hopefully we'll see each other again in a few days."

"Yeah… Hopefully..." Harry stood up. "We probably will, Dum- Albus said I could, but you know just in case, tell Ron and everyone else that I said 'Merry Christmas' and that I'm doing fine."

Gideon Prewett stared at the boy giving the slightly stiff smile and nodded hesitantly, "I will… but I'm sure you'll have a chance to say it yourself."

Harry just gave him another smile and a little nod as he waved the Healer out of his room. As soon as Gideon was outside, Harry crept up to the door and held his ear against it. He listened to the sound of receding footsteps until it fell completely silent, then he bombarded the door with several spells and also forced a chair under the handle for good measure. He called out for Sirius and began to explain the terribly unexciting half an hour he spent around the village.

At first Harry had been horrified at really finding six others waiting for them outside. Thankfully, they soon moved apart so that they were far enough that others might not consider them a part of Harry's group, which consisted of Moody and Gideon. It was then that he realised that both Moody and Gideon were wearing Muggle clothes, or at least what could have passed for Muggle clothing a lot better than robes. Once they started moving, he definitely noticed that there were a few villagers eyeing them curiously, they were no longer oblivious to the wizards' presence.

Harry told them he didn't want to visit any place that had to do with his family, he just wasn't ready yet, and that just about cut their itinerary in half. It really was an unremarkable little village where something brilliantly remarkable had happened and for a fifteen year old boy who was shutting his eyes to that remarkable fact, there was honestly nothing much to do.

The conversation between the three of them was split between Harry catching up with Gideon (apparently Kasper's sister, who's daughter was currently in a relationship with Cedric Diggory had asked Kasper to look into the Triwizard Champion) and listening to Moody as he slipped easily into the role of Auror trainer once again. Although it felt extremely unlikely that the elderly couple that were smiling and wishing Harry a Merry Christmas would be secretly plotting his murder, Harry still tried to listen to every single bit of information that left Moody's lips. He didn't dare ask him specific things like, "If someone were to attack and try and get to me, where would be the best place for them to do it?", knowing Moody's paranoia, he probably suspect something was up and start to shadow Harry everywhere.

"This isn't good..." Sirius muttered. Remus didn't say anything but his face was equally as grim. "I think we might have to go with the plan to take you while you're with the Weasleys..."

"No! I told you, I'm not putting them in any danger!" Harry just about managed to keep from raising his voice.

"There isn't any other way..." Remus said gently, "Harry, you need to find out when you'll be allowed to visit the Burrow. We'll get word to Professor McGonagall about the situation."

Harry stared back stubbornly without answering. Sirius sighed, "I'm sorry Harry. We'll talk soon..."

Harry stayed on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Hedwig eventually flew down and sat atop his stomach and Harry couldn't help but let out a small laugh, "I'm okay, Hedwig, it's Ron and his family I'm worrying about..."

That wasn't strictly true, he also worrying about what was going to happen to him once they got him out. McGonagall was clear about her intentions to hide him away and Harry's outburst the last time they spoke probably hadn't helped matters. Staying with Dumbledore was not an option, not after everything he had done to Harry, but somehow what Professor McGonagall was proposing seemed just as bad, especially if it hurt more people around him.

Someone called for him outside the room, telling him to come down for dinner. Harry groaned as he pushed himself up. He wasn't hungry, but refusing to eat wasn't going to do him any good.

When he entered the dining room a few minutes later, he found it empty other than one of the house elves setting the table. He squeaked at Harry to take a seat and that dinner would be served very soon. He did so hesitantly. This was really strange, dinner time was usually a very boisterous affair with the members of the Order talking loudly to each other and trying to get Harry to join in as well.

"Where is everyon-" Harry stopped when he realised that the elf had already left the room. He tapped his fingers against the table and fiddled with the cutlery until he heard the door opening. Harry turned around. And froze.

"Ah, Harry. I hope you had a good day?" Albus Dumbledore strode in and sat opposite Harry with a smile.

"I… saw the village..." Harry licked his suddenly dry lips and lowered his eyes.

Dumbledore nodded, "You'll have to forgive me. I know it's not a terribly interesting place for a teenager."

"W..where are the others?" Harry asked. He made a tight fist under the table to try and stop his hand from shaking.

"I thought we should sit down for a meal together, just the two of us. I am your new guardian, after all." Dumbledore's eyes were gleaming. "I'm just sorry it took this long, terribly busy with work and all that."

Harry stood up, "Actually, I'm not really feeling that well… I think maybe I should-"

* * *

Harry blinked awake, then let out a little yelp as he found two round eyes staring inches from his face. "Hedwig! You scared me half to death!"

She nudged her head against Harry's and he let out a sharp hiss of pain. He reached for the spot with his hands and winced as he felt a cut. He turned to Hedwig, ready to accuse her of attacking him when he realised he had no idea when this had happened. In the past, even when he was caught up in nightmares, a small swipe with Hedwig's talons was usually enough to rouse him from his sleep.

Harry stared at the morning sun, shining through the window as he tried to recall what on earth happened last night. The last thing he could remember was… dinner? He was with… Dumbledore...

Harry jumped off the bed, adrenaline pumping through his blood instantly. Albus Dumbledore had done something to him, he was sure of it. Harry slammed open the door and checked the corridor, there was someone at the end standing guard.

"Good morning Harry!" she said cheerily, then she let out a small gasp, "Merlin's beard! What happened?"

"Good morning er… Emmeline. I don't know… I..." Harry wasn't sure how much he could trust her.

"Looks like you got into a fight with an kneazle!" Emmeline Vance remarked as she took out her wand.

"Oh! That! Erm… I was just playing with Hedwig..." Harry mumbled, just as the owl perched onto Harry's shoulder.

"You were… _playing_ with your owl?" she cast a wary glance at Hedwig.

"Um… yeah. Got a bit out of hand… It's fine. She's fine. We're both fine..." Harry chuckled nervously.

"If you say so..." but she didn't take her eyes off the snowy owl as she muttered a spell at Harry's face.

"Ouch! Thanks..." Harry rubbed his hand over his face to find it smooth again. "Erm… has Dumbledore… I mean… Albus already left?"

Vance peered closely at Harry's face then nodded in satisfaction, "He was up at the crack of dawn. Said he had to look into something… Sounded quite important..."

"Any idea what is was about?" Harry tried asking casually.

"Hmm..." she considered him, as if she was wondering whether to say anything or not. Harry was looking at her so desperately that she eventually nodded slightly, "Well honestly, I don't know. He did say something about going to meet someone. Bode? I think that's what he said. I have no idea who he is though, I'm sorry."

He had no idea who this 'Bode' person was either, but Harry was sure it had something to do with him. One more thing he was absolutely sure about was that he didn't want to be here when Dumbledore returned. "Is Moody around?"

"No, he got called into work today." Vance regarded him, "Anything I can help you with?"

Harry stared at her for a moment. "I..I want to visit my parents today… their graves, I mean..."

"Oh." she looked startled. "Oh of course. Absolutely. I'll send a message to Dumbledore and see what we can work out."

Harry winced, "Do you have to? I mean… it felt really weird yesterday with everyone following me around… And… visiting my parents is… is a really personal thing. And after what happened last time… It was a bit embarrassing, I don't want… Albus to think I'm like that all the time..."

Vance started looking extremely uncomfortable as she remembered Harry's wet and red rimmed eyes as he left the graveyard on the first day he came to Godric's Hollow. "I don't know… It could be dangerous… You could be attacked..."

"Like we were yesterday? Moody was positive about eighty percent of the Muggles that passed us were assassins in disguise." Harry joked and Emmeline cracked a smile at that. "I just want to see them for an hour… I.. erm.. I had a dream about my mum and..."

Harry wondered if he had overdone it until he saw her lips tremble slightly. She made a little sniffling noise and nodded, "Alright, but it can't be just the two of us. I'll ask someone to come along. And I will have to tell everyone else where we're going… just in case..."

Harry wanted to argue but just nodded tightly. "I'll meet you downstairs… I just want to get some things..."

He picked up his bag and hoisted it over his shoulders. Hedwig flew and perched herself on the frame of the bed. She cocked her head and looked at him questioningly.

"Hedwig. You need to go. Stay with Ron or Hermi- No. You can't… Go to Sirius, I'll write him a letter telling him to keep you hidden." Harry mumbled as he looked in his bag for a piece of paper. She quickly scrawled a hasty note. He thought about using the mirror, but he was sure Sirius would disapprove of the plan and might even go to McGonagall about it. Harry looked up and waited for Hedwig to raise her leg so he could attach the letter, but she didn't move.

"Hedwig! I won't be able to look after you!" Hedwig stared back with unblinking eyes.

It was as if she was saying, "Maybe I don't need you to look after me, maybe you need me to look after you."

Harry growled in frustration, he was wasting time. "Fine… Let's go..."

As he reached the front door he saw two people with their heads together, whispering an argument. "I really don't think it's a good idea..."

"Oh come on Diggle, it was honestly ridiculous yesterday. Besides… we're just going to the graveyard. The spells we used for Harry's first visit there are still active. We just have to keep an eye on the gate, no one will be able to get in any other way." Vance turned as she spotted Harry and raised her eyebrows. "You're bringing the owl?"

"Yeah. I.. wanted to show her to my parents..." Harry blushed. It sounded ridiculous.

"And the bag?" Diggle pointed at the bag he had received as a present from Sirius and Remus.

"Oh." Harry's mind raced then he opened it and pulled something out. "I want to show them a few photos of my friends. I want them to see… the stuff I get up to… at Hogwarts..."

This time Harry was sure they were going to say he was being silly, but Diggle's eyes started to water and he nodded. "Okay. Okay. You do that, Harry… You do just that."

* * *

"Diggle, you stay outside." Vance suggested. She turned apologetically to Harry. "I need to keep an eye on you. I'll stay far enough away that you won't even notice I'm there..."

"Thank you. And I'm sorry for all this." Harry said genuinely. If his plan worked, he was probably going to get these two in a lot of trouble.

"Don't worry about it Harry. Go on then." Emmeline said cheerfully as she watched Harry move towards the Potters' grave site.

Harry knelt like he did before, then he looked back at Vance. She nodded sympathetically and turned slightly so she wasn't facing Harry directly. Harry faced the gravestones and let out a slow breath. "I'm sorry I'm using you like this, it feels like a really crappy thing to do. I hope you understand why I need to do this though. Not just the escaping… but the need to find some answers for myself. I promise, I'll contact someone the moment I'm in any danger but until then I have a plan… Alright then, wish me luck..."

Harry glanced at Emmeline Vance, who was whistling softly as she scanned the area for any sign of trouble. The moment she was facing the other direction, Harry sprang into action. He opened his bag and pulled out the invisibility cloak and covered himself and his owl while whispering at her to keep still. He left his bag where he had been kneeling but pulled out the photo album he had shown his two bodyguards earlier and left it slightly hanging out.

Harry stepped away and waited. Vance turned her head to the graves and did a double take as Harry, who she had seen at that spot only a second ago, was gone. Her voice rose in a panic. "Harry?"

She broke into a run as she continued to call his name. Harry caught the look of absolute horror on her face as she ran past and felt extremely guilty. She touched the bag with her hand as she looked around. She pulled out her wand and Harry felt a surge of panic but then her fingers brushed against the album, pulling it out slightly. In an instant, she was flying backwards as the protective charms on the bag flared and her head connected with a gravestone behind her. She was out cold.

Harry remained still, wondering if the noise had alerted the guard outside. He counted to thirty before moving to pick up his bag. He briefly checked to make sure that Vance was still breathing, then muttered another apology at her unconscious form before sneaking out of the gates. Daedalus Diggle was trying to stand inconspicuously near the church, his gaze settling on anyone who wandered too near the gates to the graveyard.

Harry leaned against the church, away from the little road and held his breath as he used his one free hand to take the wand out of his pocket.

BANG!

Diggle jumped at least a foot into the air and his wand whipped out, pointing it at the triple decker bus that had just appeared out of nowhere. He realised it was just the Knight Bus and clutched his chest as if trying to stop his thundering heart from crawling out. The door opened and the conductor stepped out. "Hullo there! The Knight Bus at your service! My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this morning! Just the one then?"

It took a moment for Diggle to realise that the conductor was speaking to him. "What? No! I didn't call for the bus!"

Stan's cheery smile slipped slightly, "Well sir… I can see that you're holding out your wand… You might not have known-"

"I know how the bloody Knight Bus works!" Diggle sounded irritated, "And I pulled out my wand because of the racket your death contraption makes every time it bloody appears!"

The conductor scowled, "Well I don't see no one else here and-"

Harry took advantage of the bickering to sneak onto the bus. He didn't even have to worry about keeping too quiet once he was inside because it was packed and noisy, easily masking his footsteps. He took an empty seat near the front of the bus and prayed that they wouldn't pick up anyone else before his stop.

"Oi, Stan! If he isn't getting on, he isn't getting on." the driver called out. "Just leave him lad."

The conductor muttered to himself as he clambered back onto the bus, "Bleedin' time wasters… Should be hauled off to Azkaban..."

Harry grabbed onto the seat in front of him, as he tried to hold onto Hedwig, who was definitely getting more agitated each second she was covered by the invisibility cloak. With another loud bang, they were off.

* * *

 **A/N**

Okay, once again I completely forgot to thank my beta after replying (ranting) to guest reviews. So thank you Lord Shasta!

Quick reply to guest reviews (really wish I could reply with a PM)

Sasha Starr - Thank you for that! I agree, about the being nice part. I don't mind getting constructive criticism, I want to constantly improve my writing, but being told to 'restart the story', because someone doesn't like my characterisation of Harry is a bit... yeah.

M - Glad to hear you're sticking with the story! And I certainly hope my story lives up to your expectations!


	46. Year 5 - Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **The Wolf among the Pigeons**

"Next stop – Diagon Alley!" Stan the conductor's magnified voice echoed through all three levels of the bus.

It hadn't been too long since Harry sat down. They only stopped once to pick up a middle aged wizard being dragged on board by his two young daughters. Harry froze when his eyes seemed to meet the wizard's, but he soon realised that the man was just staring at the 'empty' seat longingly. Thankfully, the two children pulled him along and up the stairs, insisting they wanted to go _all_ the way to the top deck.

After a few more bangs and startled shouting from the occupants (and two delighted screeches coming from _all_ the way up top), he started to recognise the streets of London. He was already half off his seat when the bus skidded to a halt. He dropped a handful of Sickles onto his seat and rushed forwards before the rest of the crowded bus had gathered themselves from the final lurch of the bus.

He brushed slightly against Stan the conductor, but by the time the man was wondering out loud what that was, Harry was back on solid ground and making a break for the Leaky Cauldron. By now, Hedwig was positively vibrating with frustration and Harry would tell she wasn't going to be able to keep still for much longer without stretching her wings. Harry looked up at the skies and noticed for the first time that there were a few owls flying overhead, not too many but it would have been enough for Muggles to find strange if they had been able to look towards the grubby little pub. Enough time had passed from when his story was published in the Prophet that the letters had reduced to a trickle. Still there was a chance that even a single owl could blow his cover and he hoped no one had sent him a letter at this moment.

He didn't go straight for the entrance, instead he followed the front of the building to the side. There was a narrow opening that Harry was just about able to push through. Pass the gap there was a bit more space, but it was still a small alleyway that separated magical London from it's Muggle counterpart. Even though this seemed like a place no one would notice, Muggle or magical (Harry certainly hadn't in all the times he had visited), the paved little alley was littered with rubbish, empty crisp packets, crushed cans and even a large sack of some sort that was giving off quite an evil stench.

"Okay, I'll let you out, but I need to stay under the cloak. Will you be able to follow me?" Hedwig's reply was an impatient hoot. "If we get separated, go to Sirius, okay? Sirius Black."

Harry watched her fly over the roof but then a sudden noise made him lower his head. He froze as he watched what he had thought was a bin liner unfurl and raise its own head to watch Hedwig's departure. It was a person, a man who's overgrown hair was hanging over his face in greasy vine-like clumps, obscuring his eyes. His jaws hung open and a trail of saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth, down the tangled mess of a beard and onto his legs. It wasn't the first time Harry had seen a homeless person on the streets of London, but it had never been so close up. The overwhelming smell made it difficult for Harry to feel pity right then and he remained completely still, trying not to breath. After a moment, the man lowered his head again tucking himself into a ball with his chin on his chest and Harry thought he could hear him mumbling to himself. Harry moved slowly, trying his best not to make any noise as he retreated from the alley.

He leaned against the wall to take a few deep breaths and calm himself before entering the Leaky Cauldron. A wave of heated air buffeted against his cloak, briefly revealing his legs but the packed crowd wasn't paying any attention to the entrance. He slipped behind a group of holiday shoppers moving towards the back door of the pub. In the small courtyard the wall was already open and revealing the splendidly decorated Alley stretching ahead.

There were a lot of people, just like there had been last year when he visited around the same time, and he had been counting on it. By the time he had bumped into a pedestrian for a third time, he didn't even flinch as the witch simply muttered an apology without even fully turning her head. The only problem was that a slight bump was one thing, but he knew he couldn't risk actually pushing pass the people to get to where he wanted. The wizards and witches would certainly notice him then and Harry had no idea what they would do when they realised that there was someone sulking around under an invisibility cloak. They'd probably think he was a thief or pickpocket of some sort and call for the authorities, if not settling the matter themselves with their own wands. So he had to wander with the crowd, like a sail-less boat letting the current push him to and fro. At one point he had almost reached his destination, but a sudden surge of oncoming traffic forced him to change direction and led him back almost towards where he had started.

Harry tapped his feet in frustration, eyeing the skies for any owls. He thought he saw a brief flash of white, that could have been Hedwig, over one of the buildings, but his eyes darted between all the other owls that were coursing through the air, undoubtedly delivering presents or Christmas cards all over the country. He licked his lips nervously as he huddled against the wall wondering if any were out looking for him.

It hadn't even been an hour since he made his escape and he wondered if they had noticed his absence by now. He felt a spike of guilt as he imagined Vance lying unconscious in the cold cemetery all this time. Harry shook the thought away, feeling guilty right now wouldn't help her and he was wasting enough time here dancing with the bloody crowd.

His eyes scanned the said crowd as he tried to map out a path he could take. If he stood on his toes he could even see the building. With a quick run, it wouldn't have even taken him a minute to reach it. He wondered if he should just risk detection and make the sprint, when he caught sight of somebody familiar. Two somebodies, in fact.

He broke away from the wall and tightened the cloak around himself. Within a few seconds he neared Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and headed for the little table that was outside. The two people were sitting close together each holding a steaming mug which was topped with a generous scoop of what looked like ice cream, other than the fact that it wasn't melting and was definitely giving off steam of its own. Their faces were flushed with the cold as they took in the sights of Diagon Alley and its visitors, but more often than not their gazes lingered on each other. Harry felt really embarrassed, he would have really hated it if someone had bothered him if he was in their shoes, but he had no other choice. He wasn't getting anywhere by himself.

"Ernieitsmepleasedontshoutanddontsaymyname." Harry hissed right into the Hufflepuff boy's ear as soon as he placed the steaming mug onto the table. He had been right to do so, since Ernie's arms flailed wildly as his head whipped around to face Harry, or rather the spot where Harry's voice was coming from.

"Ernie, what's wrong?" Sue asked with concern.

"It's-" but his voice was too loud for Harry's liking and he quickly grabbed for his arm and hushed him. Ernie cleared his throat, looking around, then leaned forwards towards his girlfriend and whispered, "It's Harry!"

Sue gave him a bewildered look until Harry leaned close to her ear and repeated a hello followed by a quick plea not to give him away. Sue jumped and almost screamed before she moved her hands to cover her mouth. She gasped again when she slowly turned her head to find Harry completely invisible. "H..how? Wh..what? Ha-"

"I'm sorry," Harry raised his voice slightly so that they could both hear, "and I hate to ruin your erm… date… but I really need a favour..."

"How are you invisible? Did… did you finally manage a Disillusionment charm?" Ernie reached out to try and find where Harry was. Sue quickly reached out and grabbed the hand instead.

She gave Ernie a warning look, telling him to not act so suspiciously, "It can't be a Disillusionment charm… You're too… well, you're _too_ invisible! It must be a-"

"Look, I'm really sorry but I don't have enough time." Harry interrupted her. "Can you please help me?"

"Sure." Ernie nodded, "What do you need?"

Harry whispered a list of things he definitely needed, as well as a few things he thought might be useful even though he wasn't sure stuff like that actually existed and a few things he definitely knew existed but doubted they could get their hands on without being questioned or arrested. He finished by slipping a little pouch of money onto the table. "Just get me whatever you can. So… can you help?"

Sue looked nervous, "Harry, I'd feel a lot more comfortable buying this stuff if you told us what you're planning to use it for..."

"Fine." Harry huffed and reached to take back his money. "Tell Ron and Hermione I said hi."

"Wait!" Ernie hissed and grabbed his arm as the pouch started to slid off the table. He looked around anxiously to make sure no one had seen his strange little struggle with the empty air. "We'll help, just hold on a minute!"

"Please, you need to hurry. I don't know if they'll have noticed I'm gone yet, but when they do I'm sure it won't be long until they track me down..." Harry's tone was desperate and his two friends looked at each other with unease. They definitely looked like they wanted to ask him a hundred questions, but they silently stood up and melted into the crowd.

Harry paced restlessly near the table and chairs, until a wizard passing a little too close frowned in his direction. Harry stood stock still, with one foot hovering mid air, until the wizard was completely out of his sight then he plopped down onto one of the empty seats. His hand hovered over the still hot mug, which was giving off a deliciously sweet scent. He hadn't realised how cold and numb his hands were and wrapped them around the mug, sighing in pleasure. He was still wary of anyone straying nearby, ready to bolt at the first sign of anyone wanting the seats, but it seemed Sue and Ernie had been one of the only ones willing to brave the winter chill and relax for a moment instead of perusing the shops for ideal gifts.

They were back sooner than Harry had expected. They were red faced and out of breath, they seemed to have taken Harry's plea to heart. Sue narrowed her eyes, moving her head slowly in an attempt to locate her invisible friend, "Harry are you- Eeep! Sorry!"

"Sorry! Sorry! I'll get up..." Sue had just tried to sit on Harry's lap.

"No, stay there. We can do this..." Sue sat down on top of the boy occupying the other seat. Anyone passing by would just see an enamoured couple, as long as they didn't look too closely at the completely serious expressions on their faces.

Harry blushed slightly and cleared his throat, "Did you… did you manage to get everything?"

"Not everything obviously, I have no idea where you would get something that would- Never mind." Sue placed two paper bags onto the table.

"Thanks." Harry breathed a sigh of relief and reached for it.

"Wait." she quickly pulled the bags out of Harry's reach. She went for Ernie's hand who squeezed her back. Sue let out a little sigh, "Not until you tell us what you're planning."

Harry couldn't help but let out a bubble of incredulous laughter, which he quickly stopped with his hands. The couple was sitting in front of him, with their arms wrapped around each other, while stealing short glances towards what was supposed to be an empty seat. The situation felt completely surreal and it wasn't one that was inviting Harry to talk about everything that was going on, "You can't be- I don't have time for this. I need to get going."

"Harry Potter, if you don't start speaking right this moment, I will jump at you and start screaming bloody murder until I can be sure you _won't_ go off to some unknown danger and get yourself killed." Sue said viciously.

Ernie chortled, "She will, you know? And I'll probably help."

Harry scratched his head and muttered a foul word. He then let out a snort and just reached out for the paper bags. He was invisible after all. But it was as if Sue could read his intentions and pulled them closer, hugging them tightly. Harry sighed in frustration, "I really don't have time for this and… I can't tell you anything. I promised Professor R- McGonagall. I promised McGonagall I wouldn't say anything."

Sue frowned, but Ernie looked a little relieved, "So you're saying the Headmistress knows you're here? Are you meeting with her somewhere?"

"Er… Yeah." Harry lied. "So I really need to get going… I'll be late for our-"

Harry stopped talking when a noise made his raise his head upwards. Ernie and Sue followed suit. There were a dozen or so owls in the air, with one he could immediately identify. Ernie squinted as he asked, "Is that Hedwig?"

The owls overhead were flying in a group, almost in a formation. Only the brilliantly white one Harry could recognise as Hedwig was flying against them, but she seemed to look distressed, as if she could sense something about them that Harry couldn't from the ground. Belatedly, Harry realised that if the owls continued in their descent, they would reach them and he doubted someone had sent Sue or Ernie such a sudden barrage of letters. "Sue. I need it. The Owl Repelling thing. I need it now!"

Sue, wide eyed and terrified, quickly opened the bag and rummaged inside. "It's here somewhere… Ah ha!"

She placed it onto the table and Harry quickly snatched it up. It was a small package with with a little picture of an owl with swirly eyes and the words 'Ow'll Be Gone For A While' written in a brightly coloured script. He tore open the packaging to find what looked like a miniscule crystal ball, the size of a large marble, on a little three legged metal stand. Inside it was a translucent little owl that was fluttering about while staring up at him expectantly. With it in his hand he looked back up, but the owls were still heading for him. Harry picked up the empty box and frantically started reading the tiny writing on the back, "How does it work? How do you turn it on?"

Sue closed her mouth shut and reached back into the bag, where she pulled out two more of the same little objects and handed one to Ernie. Like Harry she started scanning the back, "Erm… Repellostrix Charm… Might not work underwater… Might cause disorientation… Increased risk of splinc-"

Harry frowned at them, "Why did you buy-"

"Shake it!" Ernie hissed at him. "Shake it, while willing the charm to start working!"

Harry gripped the little ball, but just before he shook it he let out a shrill whistle. Harry stared up as Hedwig arced through the air and aimed herself towards the little group sitting in front of the ice cream shop. Then Harry gave the little object in his hand a vigorous shake. Warmth blossomed in his palm and when he opened it, he saw that the flying owl had stopped moving, looking as if it had been encased in ice.

Hedwig landed gracefully on the table, but then she cocked her head in confusion. Harry murmured her name in a low soothing whisper, but it only seemed to increase her agitation. Sue got to her feet as she gingerly gave Hedwig a stroke, "I think we should move somewhere else..."

Harry looked up again and found that the other owls had started flying in circles for a while before they dispersed, all in different directions. It was then that Harry had noticed there had been figures in the distance on broomsticks following the birds. They pointed at the owls before splitting apart and chasing after them. Two people, however, descended sharply and landed behind the Leaky Cauldron, right on top of the exit to the Muggle world.

Harry recognised Emmeline Vance as one of them, and let out a shaky whisper, "It's Dumbledore's people..."

Harry yelped in surprise has he felt arms around him, as both Ernie and Sue held onto him, leading him deeper into the Alley. Harry was still under the cloak, so the two must have looked quite strange as they pushed pass the crowds holding an owl and looking like they should have been holding something else between them. They stayed quiet for a few minutes until Sue finally opened her mouth, "Hermione told us about your Boggart..."

"What?" Harry said distractedly, as he kept trying to look back to make sure they weren't being followed.

"Your Boggart. Albus Dumbledore." Sue repeated and Harry would have jerked to a stop, but his friends kept dragging him forwards. They pulled him towards a narrow street without much foot traffic and stopped behind an empty market stall.

Harry stopped to catch his breath, wondering whether he should be annoyed at Hermione or not. In the end he just let out a tired sigh and pulled back the cloak just over his head so that they could see his face. They broke into a smile and he returned a small one back, "It's really… complicated..."

"She also said..." Ernie glanced around and lowered his voice until Harry could barely make out his word, "...there's something going on… with Professor Riddle… that the story you're telling everyone isn't-"

Harry hissed at him to be quiet, "You can't go around saying things like that!"

"So she's right." Sue said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Harry let out a strangled shout, wanting to tear his hair out. He let out a deep breath and tried to calm himself, "Look, thank you for everything, but like I've said, I need to get going."

"You're not meeting McGonagall, are you?" Sue crossed her arms and glared at him.

"No. I'm not." Harry realised it was pointless to lie to them.

"Tell us what you're planning." Ernie said seriously, "I mean it, we won't let you go until you do."

Harry glanced at the bags of the things he had asked for, as well as Hedwig perched on Ernie's shoulder. "I need to find… someone..."

"Who?" they asked at once.

"Someone… erm… named Corinne..." Harry muttered.

Harry watched their eyebrows rise and Sue asked, "Your girlfriend?"

"Wh..wha- Who-?" he sputtered and blushed. He was sure he had never mentioned her by name to these two. Then he came to a realisation and growled, "Hermione."

Telling them about the Boggart was one thing, Corinne felt a lot more personal. Sue took in his irritation expression and quickly explained, "She only told us not to ask questions about her, especially about how she disappea- Wait… does she have anything to do with what happened with… your relatives?"

"I said more than I should." Harry replied curtly as he reached for Hedwig. "And if I stay here any longer, I'm sure I'll be caught so..."

Ernie and Sue stared at Harry, then turned to each other. As if coming to an agreement, then nodded at each other, "You're right Harry. Where are we going?"

"Good, so- what?" Harry choked.

"Well it was pretty obvious from what you asked us to buy that you were planning on going somewhere, it was like a shopping list for someone who just escaped from Azkaban. Sue and I talked it over and we decided we weren't going to let you go alone." Ernie held out the bag. "You'll need someone to watch your back."

"B..but… you can't..." Harry mumbled as he desperately tried to think of something to say. "You… you have your O.W.L.s! And Ernie, you're a prefect! You can't just…"

Sue let out a snort, "Oh yeah, Ernie you should stay. Hufflepuff will be lost without you."

"Hmm… probably." he replied with an amused glint in his eyes, "Hey, wait! You just want to go off with Harry alone!"

"You caught me!" Sue laughed, "I'm _so_ attracted to him. But I knew I couldn't do anything with you around..."

"Wh..what? Are you two absolutely mad?" Harry gaped at them wordlessly as they burst into laughter when they saw his expression. "This isn't funny! This is serious!"

"We know." Ernie said, his expression turning sombre. "And we know it's probably dangerous. But… but it's important isn't it? It's about more than… just looking for a girl?"

"We're your friends, Harry. We want to help." Sue's voice was just as serious.

"I know you're my friends..." Harry sighed.

"Would you… would you say yes if it was Ron and Hermione, instead of us?" Sue asked quietly.

"No!" Harry quickly shook his head, "I would have told them exactly the same thing!"

"And they probably would have still insisted on coming with you." Ernie gave his good natured smile. "Even though we're not Gryffindors, I think we could be of some help..."

"Thanks, but..." Harry laughed weakly, shaking his head. They were wearing him down with their tempting offer, especially after the past few days he had spent essentially alone in Godric's Hollow. He wanted to say yes, but he couldn't… Could he? "My plan didn't take into account two other people… I only have one invisibility cloak, after all."

Sue mouthed the words 'invisibility cloak' in awe before shaking her head, "Well, I doubt they'll be looking for us as much as they'll be looking for you. And we bought a few more things that we thought might be useful… Oh, by the way, sorry, we might have spent a little more money than you were expecting..."

"What about your family… It's Christmas in a few days..." and at Harry's question they both looked slightly pained. Ernie raised his hands and gripped Harry's invisible shoulders, "Just… tell us this. And be honest. What you're doing, the reason you're doing it, it's not just… about you, is it? It's something bigger, it's more important. It's something that concerns a lot more people, isn't it?"

Harry stared into the Hufflepuff's earnest eyes and didn't have the heart to lie. He closed his eyes and gave a small nod. "Yes."

"Then..." Ernie sighed, "Then they'll understand. Maybe not… soon, but perhaps later."

Harry turned to Sue and she opened and closed her mouth a few times before letting out a snort, "My dad's just going to be pissed off and ground me for the next decade. Better than Grindelwald coming back from the dead though, right?"

"Yeah." Harry let out a small chuckle before he realised what she had said. He heard two gasps and saw that both Ernie and Sue had gone a little pale. "I mean… I meant… Merlin... Are you sure you still want to come with me?"

Ernie looked towards his girlfriend before giving Harry a determined nod, "Yes, we're sure."

"We… we won't be able to use magic." Harry tried his final excuse. "If we… run into trouble, we'll be pretty much helpless."

"The Trace..." Sue muttered, her eyes narrowing in thought, "We won't be totally helpless… And I'm sure you won't lead us straight into a firefight, not intentionally at least."

No, that was never his plan. He didn't believe for one second that even with everything they purchased here today, and even if he had the use of his wand, he could take down fully grown wizards and witches out to get him. His plan had been to gather information and clear some of the mist that obscured the identities of the true enemy. If he needed to take action, he'd ask for help. He wouldn't make the same mistake again. Harry shook his head, "I promise. Okay, so how do we leave the Alley?"

Ernie headed out first to check if the coast is clear. Harry was holding onto Hedwig and whispering soothing words to her. She had calmed immediately once she was in physical contact with Harry, but he could tell that the magic from the little crystal marble was still affecting her. Sue frowned at them, "I don't know where you're planning to go, but is it possible to send her ahead? She stands out a bit and she might attract attention to us. Attention we probably don't want..."

Harry considered this and eventually he took out a little piece of parchment and quickly scribbled on an address he had memorised ages ago. He attached it to her leg and said, "Hedwig, go here and wait for us. I promise we'll follow you as soon as possible."

But the owl didn't budge, but not out of stubborn reluctance like last time. Sue frowned and asked permission to see what Harry had written. When she unscrolled the piece of parchment her eyes widened, "Really? We'r- Okay never mind. Harry you need to write the name of the recipient, that's more important than the address."

"That's not going to work..." Harry muttered. He'd already tried that a few times. "Okay Hedwig, you'll have to stay with Sirius-"

The snowy owl immediately fluttered it's wings right into Harry's face and flew away, landing on Sue's shoulder. She winced as the talons dug into her skin, "I don't think she wants to."

"Hey, I think it's safe to move. What's wrong?" Ernie ran over and asked.

"Nothing. Come here Hedwig, I won't send you away. You'll just have to stay under the cloak with me again..." Harry sighed.

Ernie nodded in understanding, then he snapped his fingers. "Or we could just disguise her a bit!"

"Oh right." Sue blinked, feeling silly for not having thought of it sooner. She waved her wand at Hedwig and the beautiful white instantly changed into a murky, slightly reddish brown. Hedwig definitely looked disgruntled, but made no complaint other than tightening her talons on Sue's shoulder for a second. "We've been practising it with Flitwick for our O.W.L.s as well..."

When Harry spoke to her again, she took off into the air, this time listening to his words telling her to follow either Ernie or Sue from the air and to not come back down until they were far away from Diagon Alley, preferably outside London.

So they left the narrow street and made their way down the main Alley, with the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw linked arm in arm and the concealed Gryffindor right behind them, gripping the backs of their robes tightly. But progress was slow. It seemed that there were more people wandering about now, looking as if they had more than shopping on their mind. But while their expressions were serious, it didn't look as if they were looking for something, someone named Harry Potter for example, but that they were waiting for something to happen.

"Is something going on?" Harry whispered.

Sue shook her head indicating she had no idea and Ernie looked blank for a moment before he scrunched his nose, "Wait… My parents were reading the paper this morning… they were talking about something… I can't really remember… I was just..."

"Too excited about your date?" Harry suggested with a snort.

Ernie blushed but Sue just squeezed his arms urging him to try and remember, "Right… I think it was something about someone coming from Europe. Something about politics. I don't know what it was, but they didn't really sound happy about it."

"Whatever it is, I don't think anyone here is looking too happy about it." Sue murmured.

As they pushed through the thickening crowd, a voice echoed around them, one Harry thought sounded familiar. "Great wizards and witches of the British Isles, how I feel honoured to step here in Diagon Alley for a chance to address you all-"

Despite hissed warnings from his two friends, he leaned over their shoulders and raised himself on his toes. "I know that man… something… damn, what was it? Wolf something?"

"Athalwolf Barschüler!" Ernie exclaimed, earning himself several hisses telling him to be quiet from the people standing around them.

The man he remembered from the Yule Ball last year was standing on a platform with a slick smile. He then noticed the people behind him, Lucius and Draco Malfoy and a witch that Harry would have guessed was the Slytherin boy's mother, judging by her looks. A little apart from them was another witch, who had a languid, almost bored look on her face as he nodded along with what Barschüler was saying.

"-say I hate Britain because I hate Dumbledore! But nothing could be further from the truth! Dumbledore is a hero! My own great-grandfather owes his life to the man. He would have been another casualty of the King of Cro-"

Sue looked around with unease as several bodies pressed towards them, moving to get a better view. "Ha- Ernie, I think we should get going…"

"-a grand idea. One borne of idealism, but one that has failed. Let me be blunt with you my fellow citizens of Europe, this so called _government_ that Dumbledore has formed, helps no one. No, in fact it is actively blee-"

Harry had to follow when Ernie and Sue started moving away, before someone could accidentally brush up against the invisible boy standing behind them. While Harry was slightly curious what Lucius Malfoy (and he was sure Malfoy was behind this whole thing even though he wasn't the one speaking) had to say, Sue was right. If any more people gathered here, it would make it difficult for him to get away.

"-he plans? Can we truly trust him to act with a level head? What if I were to tell you, good people of Britain, that Albus Dumbledore harbours a secret that does not paint him in such a good light?" murmurs broke out within the crowd and Harry pulled his two friends to a stop. Barschüler broke into a gleeful smirk that he quickly tried to hide.

"Harry! If it's anything worth hearing, we'll be able to find out about it later!" Ernie said through gritted teeth. "But we need to go! _Now!_ "

Harry ignored him and released his grip on their robes. Before moving away, he quickly whispered to them, "Meet me at the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron. The Muggle side."

Ernie and Sue turned towards him and hissed his name, but he had already taken several steps away and was gone. It was easier for Harry to move through this crowd since most of them were standing still while they listened to the politician and so he found a spot on the other side of the street. There were still a few people here, listening from afar instead of crowding the platform, but few enough that Harry could easily make his escape if he needed to.

Athalwolf Barschüler waited patiently as the gathering grew restless, a few people demanding to know what he had to say. Most were angry, claiming he had nothing, that he was spreading lies to damage the beloved war hero's name. Barschüler started speaking, but so quietly that everyone had to stop shouting to hear his words, "-one Percival Dumbledore, his own father, was sentenced to Azkaban… for assaulting three Muggles?"

"-simply impossibl-"

"A lie! An absolutely filth-"

"-his father's crimes! Albus-"

"I assure you, it is the truth. Verified from records from your own Ministry of Magic." he man raised his hands attempting to placate the incensed crowd. "And yes, Albus Dumbledore is not his father. But… it's puts into context what I'm about to reveal next..."

The crowd booed and hissed and Harry tapped the heel of his shoes against the wall impatiently. He wished they would all shut up so he could hear whatever Barschüler had to say and get out of here. He looked around to see if Ernie and Sue had already left and caught sight of a group of people standing nearby, who were acting quite strangely.

Unlike the other wizards and witches, half of whom were shaking their fists in anger, these men and women were huddled closely together talking amongst themselves. They stole a few glances towards the other side of the Alley and finally seemed to come to an agreement about something. They were all dressed plainly other than one figure who the others seemed to be acting deferentially towards. The hooded figure wore a slick black cloak concealing every inch of his body. He, or she, half raised an arm and must have said something because the others discreetly slipped away in ones and twos.

Harry continued to stare at this figure and for a second Harry caught a glimpse under the hood, at the greasy black hair that had parted just enough to reveal a single bloodshot eye. Harry didn't need to see any more than that to recognise the man that he had seen outside the pub, but for the briefest of seconds there was an acrid and bitter stench that made Harry's stomach roll. When the figure lowered his head, Harry could breath clean air again. Harry's blood went cold, something was about to happen here in Diagon Alley. Something bad.

His attention turned back towards the platform when Barschüler suddenly whipped out something from his robes and everyone took an automatic step back. A few even took out their wands, with one unfortunate witch accidentally shooting off some unknown hex right towards Barschüler. The air seemed to shimmer in front of him and a disembodied voice shouted an incantation, blocking the spell before it went anywhere near the man. Of course, they wouldn't be stupid enough to pull off a stunt like this without protection.

Athalwolf Barschüler took advantage of the stunned silence and shouted, "Here, in my hands, I hold copies of arrest warrants! Issued by the British Ministry of Magic! One for Ariana Dumbledore! One for Albus Dumbledore! We all know the story, do we not! Of how the great and noble Albus Dumbledore sacrificed years of his life to go on the run for his own sister! How he evaded the authorities all that time to find a cure for her terrible affliction! A remedy long thought to have been impossible, but with sheer brilliance and tenacity he proved them all wrong and returned again to Britain, with the fruits of his laborious exile!"

The crowd looked extremely confused, but then a few of them started applauding and cheering. Everyone else joined in and someone even started chanting the name, "Albus Dumbledore! Albus Dumbledore! Albus Dumbledore!"

They must have thought he had more good news to tell, since when he raised his hand for silence, the crowd complied, "There was one more warrant issued that day, at the exact same time. A third party was with them and was wanted in questioning for the same crimes as the other two, harbouring and escaping with a witch who was a danger to the Statute of Secrecy. The name on the warrant… is one I think you are all quite familiar with. The name on the warrant is… Gellert Grindelwald."

The silence was absolute, is was as if someone had cast a spell to suck out all of the air in the Alley. Everyone looked shocked, appalled, disbelieving, but Harry didn't. His heart was thundering in his chest, but for some reason he wasn't the slightest bit surprised. What happened next, however, did come as a one.

Two flashes of green light came out of nowhere and hummed towards the platform. Before anyone even had a chance to scream, they disappeared mid-air without hitting anyone, or so Harry thought. There were suddenly two more people on the platform, two heavy set men wearing thick black robes appeared and swayed for a second before collapsing. Several people in the same black uniform came onto the stage and started ushering the Malfoys, as well as the other solitary witch, off the platform, while their eyes scanned for the attackers. But before they could reach Athalwolf Barschüler, who remained frozen as he stared down at his two dead bodyguards, a bubbling purple curse hit him squarely in the chest. Harry watched in horror as the man's body was ripped apart, exploding across half the street.


	47. Year 5 - Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Reflection by Fire**

Harry flattened himself against the wall as panic ripped through Diagon Alley, screams and shouts punctuated the air as the crowd started fleeing from the platform marred by the bloody stain. Amongst the torrent of bodies rushing to make their escape, a few pressed against the current and jumped onto the platform, where they began duelling the black uniformed bodyguards. They managed to ward off the attackers at first, but more and more of these assassins appeared and quickly took down their enemies before pursuing after their targets.

Harry finally managed to get his shaking legs under control and stepped away, his wand raised in front of him. The street was completely empty, save for the dead or unconscious bodyguards, and the- Harry quickly had to look away to settle the queasiness rising in his stomach again. There was nothing he could do any more, he had to get out of here as soon as possible. He worried about Ernie and Sue, hoping they were already waiting outside the pub, but he did take some solace in the fact that these… whoever these people were, they didn't seem to be needlessly attacking anyone other than those that were on the platform.

He took a shaky step and then several more towards the Leaky Cauldron. As he tried to leave the chaotic mess behind, his foot kicked something and he made the mistake of looking down. Harry recoiled back, grunting in disgust at the arm ending in a bloody stump. He was about to take a sidestep and hurry along, when he noticed that the hand was gripping something tightly. Harry forced himself to have another look and with a moan he reached down to grip the scrolls of parchment. He tugged a few times, but the hand just wouldn't let go. Harry took in a few sharp breaths and with a badly shaking hand, prised the fingers apart. He shuddered as he stood up and ignored the blood spatter on his takings and placed it in his pocket.

As he neared the pub, he had to move towards the side of the street again to avoid the people rushing back in his direction. He soon knew why, the sound of fighting became louder as he neared the Leaky Cauldron.

His eyes fell on the first casualty, the bored looking witch that had been there with the Malfoys was on her back staring unblinkingly out into empty space along with two more black robes wizards and a witch. Harry threw himself onto the ground as a stray curse flew in his direction. He looked up.

It seemed that the assassins were waiting for the Malfoys to escape in this direction and had surrounded them as they tried to leave through the pub. There were more of the bodyguards than Harry had first realised and they were almost evenly matched with their opponents, but they were surrounded. Still, they fought with skill and the fierce determination of those backed into a corner. Even the elder Malfoys threw savage curses that Harry was sure they wouldn't even admit to knowing if they were questioned later. Draco's expression was a mixture of fear and protectiveness, and although he did do his part against his attackers, Harry knew that he would have tried to do a lot more if his mother didn't keep pulling him back and placing him between herself and her husband.

As much as he hated the Malfoys, he felt a surge of sympathy for them as they struggled to defend themselves. Harry couldn't help but wonder if the final moments of his parents' lives had been similar to this. But as bad as Harry felt for them, this… wasn't his battle. If it were any of his friends, he wouldn't hesitate twice before throwing himself into the fray, but these people were not his friends.

He didn't dare stand up, not when curses, flames and shrapnel from exploding objects whizzed above his head, so he simply crawled. Unfortunately, in order to get out, he had to move towards the firefight. It was extremely awkward, not only to crawl, but to do so while keeping the cloak over his body. He was sure his feet had slipped out more than once, but thankfully everybody was too busy to notice a shoe suddenly appearing out of nowhere and disappearing just as fast.

Harry eventually reached the wall that separated Diagon Alley from the rest of the world. With his heart thundering he quickly attempted to count the bricks while trying to ignore the spells that were coming as close as a foot above his head. In his panicked state, he miscounted twice but finally on the third go, his wand tapped the correct brick and the concealed entrance began to slide open.

Harry bit back a yelp when he felt, rather than saw, half a dozen spells whoosh overhead. He didn't dare look back, but simply crawled in haste through to the walled courtyard. In the agonisingly slow pace he finally managed to reach the inside of the pub.

"Narcissa, take Draco and go!" the voice, for once, did not ooze with the sound of confidence. There were grunts and shouts, then finally an explosion that would have knocked Harry flat had he not already been on the ground. At the sound of rushing footsteps, Harry rolled aside while holding his sleeves to his mouth to stifle his coughs.

Through the haze of smoke and dust Harry saw two figures run through the spot Harry had been laying prone a second ago. Harry carefully raised himself to a crouching position, when he heard a shout coming from behind him, "Not so fast!"

Harry felt the air vibrate inches from his face. Then there was a high pitched scream followed by the cry of, "Mother!"

The man from before, the one with the wild hair and dingy robes, stepped forwards through the gaping hole where a door used to be, bringing along with him his fetid stench. He was holding a wand in one hand and the other dragged one of the black robed wizards so easily despite him being almost the same size as him. The wizard choked as blood foamed out of him mouth, with his eyes twitching wildly in pain.

"Narcissa! Draco!" Lucius Malfoy gave a despairing cry and launched forwards.

The wizard gave a raspy laugh before he turned and threw the gurgling wizard, blocking the green flash of light. Then he whispered a complex incantation causing a wall of dark flame to to close in from the sides. Trying to ignore the smell of seared flesh, Harry barely managed to throw himself forwards before being burnt into a crisp himself. Unfortunately, in that frantic moment, he couldn't keep a grip on the cloak as he crashed into a chair and it slowly slipped off of his body.

Three pairs of eyes turn to him and Harry froze like a rabbit in headlights. The man considered him thoughtfully as he pushed his his hair back with his fingers. Harry saw lips curled in a twisted smile of blackened teeth and wild unfocused eyes that struggled as they tried to lock onto Harry's. "Mr. Potter… you shouldn't be here..."

Harry's mind snapped back into attention, as half a year's training with Aurors rush back into his mind. He raised his wand and cried, " _Stupefy!_ "

His spell was echoed by the same incantation by someone else, but even the two red flashes were not enough to stop the wizard. His arm twitched wildly, almost automatically, as he flicked the spells away with an instantaneous Shield Charm. Harry scrambled to his feet, not bothering to cover himself with the cloak again, as the man walked towards him with an insane smile. Harry sent any and all spells that he could think of and he saw from the corner of his eyes that Draco Malfoy was doing the same. But this was a wizard far more experienced to battle than both of them. His Shield Charms came fast, but he didn't use any other spells to target Harry directly, instead flicking the wooden furniture at him at high speed.

It took every bit of skill Harry had to block, dodge or otherwise destroy the projectiles before they reached him. But it didn't feel like he was trying to kill Harry, it was almost as if the man was toying with him, if the grin on his face was any indication. He showed none of this moderation with Draco however, and threw a heavy table towards the boy and his injured mother and with a sharp flick caused it to explode like a grenade while in the air.

"Malfoy!" Harry shouted in horror as the flames obscured his vision. He spun back around and was met with a wall of foul and sticky air. The wild wizard was standing a few feet away from him.

"Oh no, you do not need to show them any compassion. The Malfoys are not a very pleasant family, you really don't want to be associated with them." the man let out a laugh that made him sound like he was hiccoughing.

"You.. you killed them!" Harry spat out the first words that came to his mind. Whatever his feelings were, whatever anyone's feelings about the Malfoys were, they didn't deserve to die like that.

The smile on the man slipped, "Not yet, but that will be remedied soon. And afterwards Mr. Potter, I will take you back."

"What do you mean, take me back?" Harry raised his shaking wand, pointing it at the man's heart.

He seemed unconcerned about it and merely gave a little twitchy shrug, "It is what the Ministry decided, is it not? Mr. Dumbledore has been appointed your guardian. I will return you to him..."

"Y..you work for Dumbledore? You're a member of the Order?" Harry asked, but the man didn't answer. He just gave another of his manic little smiles. Then his eyes flashed, Harry jerked his wand and blurted out a spell, but couldn't finish the incantation before he was flung backwards to the far side of the room where he collapsed into a breathless heap.

Narcissa Malfoy, with her robes torn bloody, stood tall with deathly fury on her face. She attacked the man with desperate strokes of her wand, her hair flying wildly behind her and her opponent's confident face slowly wavered.

Harry flinched and found himself pressing his wand straight into Draco Malfoy's face as the Slytherin boy tried to help him stand. He was ignoring the wand, or perhaps he hadn't even noticed it, because he was too busy staring at the fierce duel between his mother and the assassin. When Harry managed to get to his feet the other boy finally looked his way.

"Thanks." Harry mumbled. Malfoy didn't reply or even acknowledge the word. He only raised his eyebrows in a silent but unmistakable plea. Harry nodded and raised his wand. Draco sighed in relief and mirrored Harry, raising his wand and facing the duelling witch and wizard.

But before they could step forwards together to help, Narcissa Malfoy gave them a short glance and shouted in a clear voice, "NO! Draco, I order you to leave! _Now_!"

"I won't leave you behind!" her son shook his head firmly and took a step forwards.

Narcissa's eyes flickered back into their direction. She looked pained, "Potter, I beg you take my son and leave! _You_ know, better than others, what a mother must do for her son! That sometimes sacrifices must be made!"

Harry reached out and gripped Draco's arm before he realised what he was doing. He spun around ripping away from the grip, his eyes held anger and fear, "Get off me Potter! I can't-"

"Draco! I forbid you! You _will_ leave now!" Narcissa shrieked as she sent forth a wave of jet black water from her wand. "Potter! Take my son and go!"

Draco took another step forwards, "Absolutely not! I won't-"

" _Stupefy._ " from so close behind him, the Slytherin boy didn't even have a chance to realise what was happening before he was unconscious. Harry quickly stepped forwards and grabbed a hold of him before he fell onto the ground.

Before Harry could use the cloak to cover himself and his unconscious classmate, Narcissa Malfoy briefly turned and their eyes met. She didn't say anything, but Harry could see the gratitude there. Harry nodded and mouthed the words, 'I'll get him to safety' before he covered themselves invisible.

"No!" the man shouted in irritation and he tried to aim a curse at the spot Harry had vanished from, but Narcissa Malfoy took a quick step to block his view. He growled as he was dragged into another bout with her, and Harry quickly moved towards the exit. On his own he probably would have crossed the space within a few seconds, but dragging the dead weight with him was a lot more cumbersome than just hiding with an owl. When he was a few feet away from freedom, another wall of flames erupted into existence, blocking the door and smashing all the glass windows alongside it.

"Draco!" Narcissa cried in panic.

"We're fine!" Harry called out as he retreated from the wall of heat. He let out a shout of surprise when the flames and cloying black smoke warped into the shape of a giant clawed hand and groped out towards him. He stumbled backwards, still holding onto Draco, until he hit the foot of a staircase.

He didn't hesitate and quickly started clambering up and just as he reached the landing on the top, he heard a cry of pain. Harry paled as he saw the witch collapse onto the floor. The man that had defeated her looked furious as his head swivelled around to room trying to located Harry.

Narcissa Malfoy let out a shaky breath and raised her bloodless hands, aiming her wand at him. The man kicked the wand out of her hand then pointed his own at her, " _Avada Kedavra!_ "

All the air left Harry's lungs as he watched the green light hit the witch. He watched as her arm fell lifelessly, hitting the wooden flooring with a soft thud. Harry felt dizzy and sick but he started moving, holding on to the unconscious boy slightly tighter, as he wished, against all his previously held emotions, that Lucius Malfoy was alive and well.

Harry hadn't been up here before. There seemed to be a few little rooms like a bed and breakfast. Most of the doors were thrown open, with the occupants' belongings still littering the rooms as they fled from the battle. "Are you up there, Mr. Potter?"

Harry startled at the frustrated shout coming from below and stumbled into the first door he came across. He slid inside and kicked the door closed with his heel. Harry's arms were shaking with exertion by now, but he managed to reach the windows. Harry felt confused for a moment, since the scenery outside the windows seemed to be showing a green pastured landscape that was unlikely to be anywhere near London. If he put Draco down, he didn't think he'd have the strength to lift him up again, so he undid the latch with his mouth and pushed it open with his forehead. The windows opened to a brick wall, one that looked familiar. It was the little alley where he had first seen the wild man that was now chasing after Harry. As soon as the windows opened he could hear the hubbub of the capital, but strangely no one sounded panicked. It just sounded like a normal London afternoon. When he leaned forwards, he let out a shaky little whimper. It was much higher than he was hoping for.

Harry's hand went to his pockets and he took something out. He took in a deep breath as he ran his fingers over it, then he closed his eyes and concentrated his thoughts before giving it a sharp shake. He immediately felt it go cold. His heart was beating even faster, but he forced himself to count to ten before shaking it once more and allowed the object's magic to wash over himself again.

He only had to wait moments before Hedwig fluttered into view, twisting her head left and right as she lost her connection to Harry once more. Sue ran into the alley first, her eyes chasing the owl and Ernie was a few seconds behind, trying to walk nonchalantly while he kept turning his head back to look at something behind him.

"Sue! Over here!" Harry hissed as loudly as he dared. Not waiting to see if his friends were ready, he lifted Draco's body until it was half hanging over the ledge. The young witch looked about frantically, so Harry called out, "Up here! On the first floor!"

Sue finally looked up, as had Ernie, and both their expressions turned guarded and extremely confused at the same time, "Malfoy?"

"No! It's me!" he winced slightly at the loudness of his own voice. He jerked Malfoy's arm out of the window, making the whole thing seem like some kind of grotesque ventriloquist's act. "I don't have time to explain! I need you to catch us when we jump out the window!"

"Catch yo-" Sue looked lost for words, but both she and Ernie took out their wands and pointed it at Malfoy.

"I'm going to drop Malfoy first! Okay, I'm going to let go of him… now!" Harry shouted as he pushed the unconscious boy over the ledge.

" _Wingardium Leviosa!_ " two voiced incanted as one and the body froze and slowly levitated down.

The door crashed open and Harry whirled around to find an extremely angry looking wizard standing there, "Quite a slippery one, aren't you Mr. Potter? No matter. I have you now..."

As a red flash sped towards him, he didn't even have time to look out the window before throwing himself out of it. Draco hadn't reached the ground yet and there were two panicked cries from his friends as they saw bits of Harry as the invisibility cloak fluttered around him.

"I've got Malfoy, you get Harry!" Ernie shouted at once.

But even when Sue immediately turned her wand at the Gryffindor, it took a terrifyingly long time for the spell to take hold. By the time the young Ravenclaw witch finally managed to prevent a whole lot of broken bones, Harry was only a few feet above the stone pavement and two sets of hands were shaking quite badly.

Once his feet were on firm ground, he didn't even take a moment to catch his breath and immediately ran towards Ernie. He took one of Malfoy's arms over his shoulders, just like Ernie was doing on the other side. He gestured for Sue to come closer and threw the cloak over all four of them. It was definitely a tight fit and he hoped no one would look too closely at their feet, but he started moving them anyway.

They followed the alley, turning a sharp corner which led out to one of the Muggle streets. The street, given that it was Christmas time, was far busier than Diagon Alley was. Once again, Ernie and Sue had to step out of the cloak to take the lead, meaning, much to Harry's despair, that Malfoy was once again Harry's responsibility. Ernie suggested waking him up and Sue asked if it would be terrible to just leave him here (Ernie did think it was a terrible idea and sent a look of admonishment to his girlfriend), but Harry quickly quashed down both ideas. He couldn't leave him after what the boy's mother had asked of him and as for waking him up… Right now, he'd rather carry the dead weight for the rest of the day than deal with the questions and accusations the boy would eventually throw at Harry when he woke.

Sue led the way, she had been to the Muggle part of London before and she knew the busier places to avoid. At the start both of his friends hissed questions back at Harry, but soon gave up when they realised Harry wasn't going to answer them.

After walking to something close to an hour, they came to a bus stop. They watched a few go pass and realised that it was going to be impossible to keep the cloak on in there. Although he felt very exposed taking it off, Harry thought that if someone had managed to follow them they would have been confronted by now. They stepped into the bus, Harry paying for all four of them and Sue muttering something about 'alcohol' and 'costume party' (Draco was wearing robes), but the driver looked disinterested and simply waved them inside.

Harry just followed his friends to the upper deck and collapsed into a seat with an exhausted sigh. Sue plopped down onto the seat next to him and Ernie turned to face him after leaning Malfoy against the windows. "Okay Harry, start talking. What in Merlin's name is going on?"

Harry groaned into his hands trying to organise his thoughts. Sue cleared her throat and asked surreptitiously, "You haven't erm… kidnapped Malfoy or anything… right?"

Harry peeked out between his fingers and stared at her a moment before letting out a snort of laughter, "No. I didn't kidnap Malfoy."

At Harry's words Ernie let out a breath of relief, "What happened to him?"

"He's just stunned." Harry explained. When Ernie asked him if he should try and wake him up Harry reluctantly nodded. He wanted nothing more than to just leave him here and let him take care of himself when he woke up, but Mrs. Malfoy's final words echoed in his mind. "Take his wand… just in case… oh and remember, no magic from now on..."

Without the counter-charm, it took some time and quite a lot of shaking to finally wake the Slytherin boy. He blinked a few times in confusion before jumping up and shouting, "Mother!"

"Malfoy, calm down!" Ernie hissed as he tried to get him to sit down again.

"Macmillan?" Malfoy frowned as he looked around. "Where am- Am I on a _Muggle_ _bus_? What happened? Whe..where is my mother?"

Ernie turned to Harry for help and when Malfoy followed his gaze, his eyes widened and he lunged for Harry over the top of the seat, " _Potter!_ What did you do? What the hell happened back there? What happened to my mother? Is she safe?"

"I don't know." Harry lied, as much to himself as to the others. It just wasn't something he could process right now. "She asked me to get you out so I did."

"You coward! You fu-" Malfoy grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed Harry against the back of his seat. "And you call yourself a Gryffindor? If anything happens to her-"

"What? What will you do?" Harry snapped as anger flared up in him. "If you want someone to blame, blame your idiot of a father. What the hell was he thinking, pulling a stunt like that in Diagon Alley? Why do you think you were attacked in the first place?"

Malfoy flushed in anger and he reached for his wand, which was obviously not there. "Where is my wand?"

"You'll get it when you calm down." Sue said, as Ernie tried to get Malfoy to sit back down again.

"Get off me Macmillan!" Malfoy pushed the Hufflepuff away, almost making him lose his balance and fall over. "If you have my wand return it or else-"

Malfoy almost bit his tongue when the bus skidded to a stop. Harry looked out the window and realised they weren't at a bus stop. He tensed immediately when he heard someone thundering up the steps and that's when he realised that the few people on the upper deck were staring at them warily. "Oh crap."

"Oi, you lot! Get off my bus!" the driver bellowed at them, which was followed by appreciative nods and murmurs from the other passengers. "I don't give a rat's arse what you do out there, but I'll have no fighting in my bus! Get going before I call the police!"

They all quickly stood up and stepped off the bus muttering apologies and in Malfoy's case glaring daggers at everyone. It was getting darker now with less people out and about especially since they moved away from the busier areas. But Harry still stepped into a narrow empty street and leaned against the wall and hugged himself tightly.

Malfoy asked for his wand again and Ernie handed it over when Harry gave a hesitant nod. As soon as it was in his hand, he immediately pointed it at Harry. Harry let out a small snort and simply glared back, "What are you going to do? Use magic so the Ministry can track us here?"

Malfoy scrunched his face, "What is that supposed to mean? Why should I care?"

"Oh? So you don't care if _he_ tracks you down again?" Harry spat tiredly

"Who?" Ernie asked, startling slightly when Hedwig flew down to land on his shoulder.

"Will someone please explain what in Merlin's name happened in Diagon Alley?" Sue scowled at Harry.

"It was Albus Dumbledore." Harry whispered before he could stop himself. He was too tired to think straight. He felt like he had been on the run for days and not hours.

"Albus Dum- It wasn't Albus Dumbledore… Why would he..." Malfoy's anger seemed to fade and he looked just as shocked as Harry's two friends. Then his eyes narrowed and with a snarl he stepped forwards and pressed the tip of his wand against Harry's throat. "You know something, don't you?"

Harry's hands shot up and brushed the wand aside. He felt disorientated and confused for a moment, but he quickly shook it away. "I don't know anything Malfoy. Go home and ask… ask your father. You two as well. I didn't think this through… I should never have said-"

"No." Sue said stubbornly, "We're coming with you,"

"It's going to be dangerous." Harry said while looking directly at Ernie, with a silent plea to try and convince his girlfriend to abandon the idea.

Ernie looked conflicted as he considered Harry's words. Ernie looked at his girlfriend who was nodding and obviously expecting him to agree with her. He let out a chuckle that sounded slightly forced, "If you're even willing to help Malfoy when he's in trouble, I really don't see how we can let you go off on your own."

Harry nodded, too tired to argue. "Okay. Let's get moving then. Malfoy… Good… luck or whatever."

Harry turned and started walking. A few seconds later Ernie cleared his throat, "Erm… Harry?"

"Hmm?" he looked back over his shoulder to find Malfoy following them a few steps behind them. When the trio stopped, Malfoy stopped walking as well. "You are not coming with us. If you're following us because you think I know something, _I don't_."

" _I_ don't believe you." Malfoy said haughtily.

Harry pulled out his wand and aimed it at the Slytherin boy. " _I_ don't care. Follow us and-"

"And you'll do what?" Malfoy sneered, using Harry's own argument from a moment ago. " _You_ obviously don't want to be tracked down."

"What about your mother?" Harry felt guilt and panic as he brought it up. "I thought you wanted to know what happened to her?"

Malfoy lost some of his confidence but he raised his chin and said in a steady voice, "I'm sure she made it out. If not… I'm going to find and kill the person responsible. And I think the best way of finding him is by following you."

The person responsible… Harry wondered if Malfoy was talking about him. Harry ran his hand through his messy black hair and let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. _Fine._ "

He had never thought all of this going to be easy, but he never thought it was going to be this bad. He briefly considered throwing on the invisibility cloak and making a run for it, but by the look on Malfoy's face he'd probably throw a stunner at his back before he could take three steps and it looked like Sue and Ernie wouldn't lift a finger to stop him either.

* * *

Harry closed his eyes and felt the gentle sway of the waves as the ocean breeze washed over him. He tried not to think of what happened the last time he was on a ship, or rather, what happened after he disembarked.

It was not as easy as he thought it would be to board a ferry from Dover to cross over to France. Harry had hoped he could just throw some money at it, but no. Sue was the only one out of the four of them to hold a Muggle passport and she obviously didn't have it with her. Once again it came down to the trusty invisibility cloak to get them on board.

Once they were on the ferry, no one gave them a second glance. They were all wearing Muggle clothes (much to Malfoy's disdain), they had all taken an Ageing potion (which made Sue and Ernie stare at each other in a way that made Harry extremely uncomfortable) and Harry had also dyed his hair blond like during his second year, in the unlikely scenario that they came across a wizard or a witch who enjoyed taking slow modes of Muggle transport.

"Harry?" the boy quickly pocketed what he was holding. Sue and Ernie came over to Harry, hand in hand. "We were just-"

"Doing something that I don't need to know about, I'm sure." Harry finished for her.

Sue returned an unabashed grin while Ernie's skin turned pink. He looked around, "Where's Malfoy?"

Harry sighed, "I don't know. I don't really care."

"Here." Ernie held up a steaming paper cup. "We got you some tea."

"Mmm..." Harry sipped the tea appreciatively. "Thanks."

"What was that you were holding?" Sue asked curiously.

Harry tensed for a moment, then he took it out and handed it to her. She and Ernie looked through it with a frown. They didn't say anything until they reached the third sheet of parchment, when they both gasped. "Th..this is… It can't be… right? It must be faked or something?"

"No Macmillan, it's not a fake." Malfoy snapped as he approached the trio. His eyes looked slightly red.

"You alright there, Malfoy?" Ernie asked.

His expression was stony and there was a twitch in his eyes that looked unhealthy. "Sea sickness… This Muggle ship isn't agreeing with me… How did you get that anyway Potter?"

"I..." picked it off a still warm corpse, but Harry wasn't going to say that. He shuddered and said, "It just… fell near me after the attack..."

"This is why you were attacked?" Sue's eyes were still glued on the parchment. "I'm not surprised… this is… Dumbledore and Grindelwald…"

"It's meaningless..." Harry muttered and the three stared at him. Malfoy's hand twitched and his eyes blazed with loathing for a second before he looked away.

"What do you mean?" Ernie asked.

"Look at the date. I have no idea how old Dumbledore actually is, but he must have been barely out of Hogwarts then, and teenagers can do stupid things." possibly like Harry was doing himself right now. He quickly shook these thoughts away, "The wolf guy-"

"Athalwolf Barschüler." Malfoy immediately corrected him with a sneer.

"Yes him, he said that it was from the British Ministry. It means they knew about it but they never did anything. Dumbledore will probably come out and say that it was just a youthful mistake, one that came about because of his worry for his sister." Harry explained shaking his head. "He'll just claim he had no further contact with Grindelwald other than on the battlefield and that he's proven himself the Crowking's enemy by rallying Europe against him."

Sue looked thoughtful, "When you put it like that… it does seem pretty pointless… Why reveal it at all then?"

"It's still bad press for Dumbledore." Harry shrugged. "It won't turn the tides, but it'll still chip away some of his supporters."

"So why bother attacking?" Ernie looked around the deck as if there could have been hidden assassins still after them.

"And why are you so sure it was Albus Dumbledore?" Malfoy interjected as he glared at Harry.

Harry sipped the rapidly cooling tea, "Who else could it have been?"

"Barschüler wasn't exactly well liked." Malfoy said. "He had his share of enemies back in his homeland. It could have been one of them, why are you so sure it was Dumbledore?"

"I didn't know that. You're probably right Malfoy, it's probably an enemy he brought from… wherever he comes from..." Malfoy quickly opened his mouth to argue so Harry quickly pointed out towards the sea. "I think we're nearly there. We'll have to work out how we're going to get off. Do you think they'll check for tickets and passports?"

Harry spent the next several hours attempting to ward off Malfoy's attempts to question him or goad him into a fight, he wasn't really sure which he was trying to do. A little bit after that Harry thought the unthinkable, that Malfoy might actually be useful on the trip. When Harry was stuttering to an infinitely patient middle aged woman working at the train station, Malfoy roughly pushed him out of the way and proceeded speaking in flawless French, asking for direction and purchasing tickets for the four of them.

The journey was largely uneventful. They avoided Paris and the large wizarding population there, instead going down the west coast of the country. They stopped for a few restless hours before taking another train to the south. There, after Malfoy's extensive conversations with the locals, they took a few country buses and finally arrived in the small town that had been on Harry's mind for months.

His first impression was that it was busier than he had previously expected. It might have been because it was only a few days until Christmas day, but people were milling about in the streets with cheery smiles despite the chilly air. Harry went back under the cloak and it was up to the others to find the exact location of the place they wanted to reach. It took them the best part of an hour to walk to the very outskirts of the town. The buildings were sparser here, with vast fallow fields lightly sprinkled in white dotting the landscape. They saw water in the distance, something between a stream and a river, creating a border between the village and wilderness. Beyond it they could see clumps of trees growing into a sprawling forest.

They didn't see another person for the final twenty minutes of their journey. The whole area looked as if it could have been frozen into a perfect image on a postcard. But Harry was too tense to enjoy the picturesque scenery, with every step he took he hunched further into his cloak. He couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched, like he was walking into a trap and that he was dragging his friends (and Malfoy) into the trap with him.

The tension seemed to have spread to Ernie and Sue and they were glancing about, scanning the distance for any sign of people. Their hands twitched as if longing for their wand, which they kept in their pockets in fear of accidentally shooting off a spell. On the other hand, Malfoy seemed completely at ease. He sauntered along with his body relaxed. His expression, however, was the foul scowl that had been on his face since the ferry journey, which had not strayed once.

And then they finally came to a stop. It was a large brick farmhouse, one matching with all the others they had seen along the way. It was undoubtedly of Muggle construction, but it looked sturdy and comfortable. It was exactly what Harry had pictured from all the descriptions of the place Corinne had given him. He could even picture the French girl sitting at her desk by the window, looking out and writing him her letters. Harry let out a shuddering breath, one he felt he had been holding for weeks, if not months. There was a feeling in his bones, he was finally going to get some answers.


	48. Year 5 - Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Un Étranger dans la Forêt**

"This is ridiculous." Malfoy muttered again, for the third time.

As soon as the house came into view, Harry had made them all stop and hide behind a row of hedges. They stayed there, peering over to the Lansquenet house once in a while to see if there was anyone coming or going. Harry had wandered nearby under the invisibility cloak, but it seemed that the house was empty, for how long though he couldn't tell. Sue had come to pretty much the same conclusion on her own scouting excursion, while Harry huddled behind Ernie in a bid to try and keep hidden.

"Potter, you're meant to be the Gryffindor out of all of us. How long do we have to wait until you grow a pair so we can finally get moving?" Malfoy had grown increasingly ill tempered the longer they travelled. He was snappish with all three of them when he wasn't barraging Harry with constant questions. It even came to a point when Harry could hear him in a loud but muffled rant to himself inside the tight confines of the train's toilets.

"Just a bit longer." Harry ignored the insult, it was becoming easier to do as the hours passed, and said in a firm voice. "Someone may be watching the house. I just want to make sure… Just a few more minutes, I promise."

He had no idea what a few more minutes would prove but he was going to have to make a decision soon. Although Ernie and Sue were less vocal in their displeasure, but Harry could tell by the way they were huddled close together that the weather was starting to get to them.

"Oh for-" Malfoy pushed away from the hedge with an exasperated sigh.

Harry instantly grabbed for him and was immediately swatted off. He tried to keep his voice as even as possible. "I told you Malfoy, just a few more minutes."

"I need to go." Malfoy said bluntly.

Harry felt his temper flare and he grabbed the front of Malfoy's shirt and threw him back. He had no chance of defending himself against an invisible foe. "I toldyou. Give it a few more minutes."

Malfoy snorted then he somehow managed to stare directly at Harry, despite the fact that he was still under the cloak. "And I told you, I _need_ to go."

Harry was tempted to throw a punch and give him another broken nose to match the one he'd given him when they were eleven, but Ernie managed to grab onto him, stopping Harry before he could do something rash. "Er… Harry. I think what he means is… he needs to erm… _go_. I think… I'll need to soon as well..."

Harry frowned in confusion, especially when Sue started to giggle. Then he finally understood, "C..can't you just wait? Just hold it for a while longer?"

Malfoy didn't answer. He just turned and started walking away. Ernie shrugged in Harry's general direction, "A few more minutes won't hurt I guess..."

Harry watched as the Slytherin walked away, "Ernie I hate to ask, but-"

"Absolutely not." Malfoy snapped without even turning around. "Follow me and I _will_ hex you, Trace or no Trace."

"Are you really expecting someone waiting for you here?" Ernie asked as soon as Malfoy was out of earshot.

"I don't know… I'm just being cautious, I guess. I don't want us to run into any trouble." they waited in silence until they saw Malfoy again. He was walking back, but walking down the other side of the wide dirt road they had come from. Harry swore, "I guess we're going to find out now..."

They left the spot and hurried to catch Malfoy, who wasn't even looking in their direction and heading for the house. Harry didn't say anything as he stealthily matched the Slytherin boy's footsteps besides him. The house looked perfectly normal, nothing dark or evil about it, but Harry still felt his stomach tighten with every step he took. They reached the porch and stopped. No one seemed to want to make the first move, not even Malfoy, who had been the one most impatient out of all of them.

Harry gritted his teeth and extended his arm from underneath the cloak towards the handle, but before he could touch it Malfoy gripped his wrist to stop him. Before Harry could say anything, he heard a tiny, barely audible little popping sound coming from inside the house, "What was that?"

Malfoy relaxed and let go of Harry's arm. He shrugged and reached for the door himself, "I didn't hear anything."

And then he pushed the door open. It was unlocked, something Harry hadn't considered until this moment but was thankful for. As the door slowly swung open with a slight creak, the four stood rooted on the spot. But even after a minute, nothing happened. No one came from inside the house to greet them and no one suddenly Apparated to surround them either. Harry was the first to step inside.

Ernie closed the door behind him and Harry finally stepped out from under the cloak, shoving it back into his bag. It was a cosy little place with wooden floors and bare brick walls covered with large framed paintings and smaller photos. Just by the door there were several thick boots as well as a few sturdy looking umbrellas. Next to it a little waist high cabinet with a little bowl of keys and a little potted plant that looked long dead. It seemed that no one had bothered to water it in a very long time.

Harry jumped when Malfoy suddenly spoke. His voice seemed too loud and echoed throughout the house. If there had been anyone inside here with them unaware that they had guests, they certain would know now. "Why are we here, Potter? What are you looking for?"

"Just… look around… see if you can find any clues as to where the people that lived here went." Harry tried to read his friends' expression, wondering if they were regretting following him now, but Ernie and Sue gave a simple nod before moving forwards. Malfoy gave Harry another glare before stomping away.

While the others headed off into other room, Harry stayed in the large sitting room. Harry barely glanced at the assortment of slightly mismatched furniture and headed towards the walls. He relaxed slightly and even managed a tiny smile when he saw the photographs. Corinne… So they were in the right place. His smile faded when he recognised two other people, despite having never actually met them. Corinne's mother and stepfather looked exactly as they did when Harry 'encountered' them at Four Privet Drive. At least, on the surface they did. None of the photo showed the coldness or the ruthlessness of a minion of Grindelwald out to kill Harry. Their eyes were warm and smiling and showed absolutely no indication that they were anything other than Muggles. But Harry had already known that, he couldn't trust anything from that day.

The smile grew again as his eyes slid down each of the photos, Corinne had always been beautiful even when she was much younge- No. No. No. Harry's throat suddenly went completely dry. This was wrong, this was completely wrong. Photos of when Corinne was a child? It was something that shouldn't have existed, not if anything she had told Harry was the truth. The whole friendship between her and Harry had blossomed due to one unfortunate fact. The fact that neither of them were loved by their own families. There were certainly no photos of Harry, there was not even any proof that a boy other than Dudley Dursley existed in that household.

Harry carefully scanned each of the photos for Corinne's expression. She was smiling in all of them and from what Harry could tell, they were all completely genuine. Even in the photo that first introduced her stepfather into the family, she looked happy, perhaps even more so, that her mother had found a new love. She stood close to both of her parents, obviously finding comfort in the gently hand placed on her shoulder or arm brushing against her own. This was not the house of an abused, or even neglected, child. This was a household of a close and loving family.

Harry felt his knees buckle and he didn't try to keep himself from falling. Everything had been a lie. Right from the first moment she had met him, she had said and done everything just so she could get close to Harry. She wasn't kidnapped and forced to write him those letters, she had done so willingly. Corinne Lansquenet was an agent of Grindelwald.

"Harry, are you okay?" Harry didn't even realise that Ernie had stepped into the room. He crouched next to Harry with a concerned expression.

"Y..yeah… I think the bus rides wore me out..." Harry managed to say, "Did you find anything?"

Ernie shook his head, "We had a quick look around and the place seems to have been empty for months. There's dust lying everywhere. I think we found Corinne's room upstairs, Sue's looking through it right now. It might take a while."

"R..right..." Harry couldn't bear to tell him that it was pointless, that this whole endeavour had been a waste of time. Even if they managed to find something that pointed them to Corinne's current location, as well as a Portkey to take them there, there was absolutely no way they could go. So far, Harry had been looking for a friend, he wasn't going to lead the ones that stood besides him into danger towards an enemy. "Look… Ernie..."

There was no point continuing this. Even though he had tried to prepare himself as best he could, he couldn't deny that they had been extraordinarily lucky to have made it this far. Harry knew that their luck might turn at any moment and he couldn't bear to think what could happen to Sue, Ernie and, Merlin help him, even Malfoy when it did. No, he had to contact Sirius or Remus as soon as possible, he couldn't ignore the mirror any longer.

"Harry." Ernie shook his shoulders making him snap out of his thoughts. "Why don't you have a little rest, just for a bit? You really don't look good. Sue and I'll keep looking."

"No… Ernie..." Harry sighed.

"Don't worry. We'll come find you as soon as we have something. We found a few spare rooms upstairs, I'm sure no one would mind you having a lie down for a bit." Ernie helped Harry to his feet, "I have a good feeling we'll find something soon."

Harry didn't have the strength to argue and just gave the Hufflepuff a weak smile. Maybe they would find something. It was very unlikely, but maybe Sirius would be very slightly less incensed if Harry contacted him holding some sort of vital information on hand, something that told the ex-Auror that it had been worth worrying everyone to come here.

He dragged himself into one of the empty rooms and collapsed onto the bed. He planned to close his eyes, just to rest for a few minutes, but he felt drained of the adrenaline that had been pumping through his body for the last few days and he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Harry Potter..." the voice was soft, familiar and it sounded right next to his ear. But it took him such a long time to open his eyes. Wait… Was he actually opening his eyes?

She was there, standing right in front of him. Corinne Lansquenet. Harry was vaguely aware that he should have felt some fear at the girl's sudden appearance, especially after what he had discovered in her house, but he didn't. It was as if Harry couldn't really feel her presence, despite seeing her eyes staring right at his own.

"Corinne?" Harry's voice came out warped and echoey, as if he had shouted underwater or into a vast tunnel. Corinne's expression was distant in a way that felt alarmingly familiar to Harry.

She turned her back to him and raised a foot to take a step. When it came down and touched the floor, she disappeared. In a panic, Harry jumped forwards to follow her. He squinted his eyes as his surroundings spun around into a blur of colours before settling again. It took him a while to realise where he was, which was right by the front door of Corinne's house looking out into the French countryside.

This time it didn't take him by surprise when he took another step to follow Corinne and once again he leapt forwards a great distance within a fraction of a second. At first he had been worried that he might lose sight of her, but it was almost as if she was waiting for him, making sure that he didn't get lost. Leading him towards something.

They quickly moved away from the village and towards the woods he had seen in the distance. It started with a few trees that quickly crowded around him in thick clumps. Another step and he was completely engrossed in a deep forest. As he wandered deeper he began to feel a gnawing sense of dread hanging in the air. An oppressive feeling, not that something bad was about to happen to Harry, but one that suggested something terrible had already taken place here.

Harry came to a stop and waited for Corinne to make another move, but she stood stock still. Harry took a hesitant step forwards and was relived that he didn't jump forwards again. He slowly crept towards the girl in front of him until he was standing right behind her. She still hadn't moved an inch. With a shaky hand, he reached for her shoulder.

Her head spun around and Harry tried to yell and jump back but she had a vice like grip on him and he was forced to stare at her face. Her skin shrivelled and her eyes sunk into her skull, her jaw a grin, then a scream and the noise, the terrible noise-

"Harry?"

The boy woke up with a start. He looked down at his arms and realised that it had been his own hand that had been gripping onto his wrist. Despite the chill of the long unheated house, he felt a trickle of sweat down the back of his neck. He finally looked up at the voice that had woken him, Ernie stood by the door. "I..I fell asleep. Sorry."

"We know. You really didn't look well so we just let you." Ernie looked at him worriedly.

"How long was I out?" Harry still felt a little shaken but forced himself onto his feet.

"Not too long. Just over an hour." he said, "We still haven't found anything though..."

"I think I know where we need to go." Harry ignored the confused look on Ernie's face and stepped out of the room. He just shook his head at the questions, he couldn't give a coherent answer right now. As Harry quickly stepped down the stairs, Ernie went into another room calling out for the others.

Harry threw open the front door and stalked down the path, not even bothering with the invisibility cloak. He didn't slow down even when three voices called out from behind him.

"What's wrong with him? Where is he going?" Malfoy snapped angrily and a little breathlessly.

"He says he… knows where we need to go." Ernie sounded uncertain. He lowered his voice, but Harry could hear him all the same, "I..I think he had a nightmare..."

"A nightm- Merlin. Potter does Divination, doesn't he? You're not a bloody seer Potter!" Harry felt a slight flush, but he was still sure of this. It wasn't a vision, not exactly. It was something he had seen a while back, something that didn't make sense until now.

They eventually gave up trying to get any answers out of Harry and hurried to keep up with him. Harry saw a bridge in the distance downstream, but he ignored it and plunged into the river, wading through the thigh deep waters. It wasn't just that he didn't want to waste the five extra minutes it would take to get there, but also because he wanted to keep on the trail left in his mind. From what Harry could hear from the three teenagers following him, he was sure they all thought he had gone completely mad.

Once he crawled onto the other side of the bank, Harry took a moment to look around and reorient himself before rushing towards the thicket of trees. He slowed down slightly waiting for the others to catch up, he was sure getting split up in there was not going to be a good thing. He was also sure that once they entered the woods it was going to take a lot more concentration to keep on the right path.

Harry felt slightly unsure of himself when he didn't get the gloomy feeling of dread he had experienced in his dream. If anything, it felt too nice, too pretty. Something that might appear in a Muggle television show. Unlike the magical counterparts he had seen, this was a perfectly Muggle forest, meaning he didn't feel any immediate danger to his life from some unknown creature or shrub.

He stopped from time to time, closed his eyes and concentrated on a memory almost forgotten. He had been to these woods before, not in person, but in a vision induced through a potion.

The second task of last year's Triwizard Tournament involved the champions finding their way in the sinister woods surrounding Durmstrang Institute and it was through a potion they had earned in their first task that the way was revealed. Cedric had been kind enough to offer Harry some of the potion, since he was about to go to his own dangerous task with the Aurors and by drinking some of it, he was meant to gain some precognitive knowledge about the dangers he would face and the path he was meant to take. Harry had thought it had failed, that perhaps it had been something only the Champions were able to use, since he had seen none of the trials and tribulations he would later face that year. In his dream that night, he had only seen himself and Corinne lost amongst some unfamiliar woods. Woods that had been unfamiliar only until a moment ago.

The change was sudden and jarring, the exact moment marked by four sharp and sudden intakes of breath. It wasn't anything visible, the trees looked exactly identical to the hundreds they had already passed, but they felt something in the air, on their skin. But it wasn't anything as abstract as terror or dread, it was a little tingling sensation, a little hum in the back of their heads, that told them that magic had been preformed here.

Harry soon knew what it was when he stopped moving, not because of any reluctance to carry forth, but because the way forth was instantaneously unfamiliar. He pointed ahead, half talking to the others and half to himself, "This is the way we came from."

"We've been walking in a straight line for the last five minutes." Ernie said as he looked around, but he didn't sound at all confident.

"It must be a charm of some sort..." Sue said nervously. "To keep away Muggles for a start, but it also seems to be affecting us as well..."

"Can we undo it?" Harry asked, looking at each of the others, even Malfoy, in turn.

Sue was squinting at the trees as if hoping to see visible signs of the spell, "We don't know anything about it… I don't think it's going to be possible."

"I think we should try and find our way back." Ernie whispered at them. He had taken out his wand and was gripping it tightly, his other hand reached out for Sue.

"Why?" Harry looked around to find the danger his friend was seeing.

"Because we don't know what we just walked into." Malfoy was scanning the trees as well. "It might just be something that turns us around so we can't reach a certain place, but there might also be a spell that alerts whoever used it that someone has triggered it… Just like the one in the house..."

It took a moment for Harry to register what Malfoy had just said, "Wh..what? You mean there was someth-"

"I didn't think there would be anything magical around here for miles. Just when I was beginning to think this was a complete waste of time…" Malfoy murmured. He then turned glaring at Harry in hatred, "I was right, you know something… something about the people that killed my mother."

"What?" two voices gasped but Harry was lost for words.

Blood drained from his face and he had to look away from the accusatory glare. "What? Don't you have anything to say, Potter?"

"I did what she asked." Harry said feebly.

Harry thought he was going to get a curse to his face, but instead Malfoy called out, "Dobby!"

Before Harry even had a chance to feel confused there was a pop and a house elf, one that looked vaguely familiar, appeared between them. "Yes Master Draco, sir?"

"You had a house elf following us?" Ernie asked in surprise.

"Did you really think four underage students could really avoid detection without any help?" Malfoy sneered and he pointed at Harry. "Especially when one of them is _him_? Did you really think a few potions and an invisibility cloak could hide us when the whole bloody Ministry is out looking for us?"

"I just thought… we were a bit lucky..." Ernie murmured.

"Dobby." the house elf that had been staring at Harry with wide eyed wonder flinched as he was addressed. "Take us pass this spell, to where they don't want us to go."

"Yessir!" Dobby squeaked and Harry must have looked eager as well since the elf nodded enthusiastically before rushing forwards.

The house elf must have been able to see or sense something that Harry was unable to, since he was completely sure in his steps. He made sharp turns and once even doubled back the way they came, only to find themselves in a completely different place. Harry stopped before the little elf did, when he finally recognised his surroundings again. For a moment, his vision blurred with that of his dreams and he saw the faint outline of a female figure standing in the clearing of the woods.

When he blinked it was gone but he ran towards the spot. As he stood there he turned slowly taking in each tree, each rock and bush, trying to find something that would trigger his mind into telling him what he needed to do next. Then his eyes fell to the forest floor and he scanned the rotting leaves amongst his feet. He was on his knees before he realised what he was doing and with his hands he began to shovel away the dead foliage.

He didn't stop once he reached the rich brown earth, he clawed at it with his hands and fingers. When a nail broke he didn't even wince before picking up a flat stone and dragged it across the ground in a desperate frenzy. The voices behind him were a distant echo as his mind played through the dream once more, it's meaning now so unmistakable. He kept ploughing through the dirt, pausing only for a moment when the smell hit his nose, something sickly sweet like an overripened fruit teetering on the brink of decay. It felt entirely wrong and raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He carried on digging but more slowly now, more carefully.

He dropped the stone and carefully used his shaking hands to brush away the last clumps of earth from what he had uncovered. It was familiar yet obscenely foreign at the same time. The face was pale, too pale, and the eyes completely lacked expression as they stared off into something beyond. Here, Corinne Lansquenet lay dead and buried. For how long, Harry could not tell, but she looked perfectly preserved, almost as if she had been asleep until the moment Harry had disturbed her.

Harry felt numb and didn't notice the arms pulling him up. He stared at concerned and horrified faces for a long time before the buzzing in his ears finally subsided, "Harry? Harry? Can you hear me?"

Harry nodded dumbly and he tried to look back down, to get another glimpse of the girl he had never known, but hands held his head to stop him.

"Who the hell is that?" Malfoy was trying to sound indifferent, but there was a slight tremor in his voice. He was just as shaken as the rest of them. No one gave him an answer.

"I found her." Harry murmured. He pulled away from the hands holding him, reassuring their owners that he was fine now. He opened his bag and reached deep inside, pulling out a thick bundle. With a surprisingly steady hand, he started peeling off thick robes, then shirts and even a pair of his underwear finally revealing a little mirror that he had heard faintly calling for him soon after he left Godric's Hollow. Even now, as he discarded each layer of his attempted soundproofing onto the forest floor, he could hear the frustrated, distressed and hoarse voice calling his name. He brought up the mirror to his face and the face that appeared in the glass immediately flooded with relief. Before Sirius could say anything, Harry repeated, "I found her."

"Har- What? Are you hurt? Are you safe? Wait, I don't- Where the bloody hell are you?" Sirius looked like he hadn't slept in days and perhaps, Harry thought with a distant feeling of guilt, he actually hadn't.

But Harry didn't apologise. Couldn't apologise, Right now, it was vital for Sirius to understand that, "I found her."

And this time he moved the mirror so that Sirius could see what he was talking about. There was a moment of silence, then he swore. "Harry. Harry, turn me around. Harry where are you right now?"

"We're near Corinne's house." Harry told him.

"We? Who are you with?" Sirius asked sharply.

"It's us." Sue leaned over Harry's shoulder. "Me Ernie and… Draco Malfoy's here as well. Oh and his house elf..."

"Thank Merlin! We thought the worst when you two disappeared in Diagon Alley..." Sirius gave her a weak smile, "And the Malfoy boy as well? Why is- No. Okay, all of you stay right where you are. Sue, make sure Harry doesn't go off on his own. Okay?"

Sue nodded firmly and Harry didn't protest. He didn't have any idea where he could go from here anyway.

Harry sat back down on the dead leaves, near the dead girl, as he let his mind wander in an attempt to work out what this all meant. He didn't know how long he sat there, but it must have been a while since eventually Sirius and Remus emerged from the brush behind Dobby, who must have left them at some point to help lead the two men here. Harry stood up and immediately felt arms wrap around him, in an embrace tighter than he had ever experienced.

"Sorry." that was all that he could think to say. Not 'I found her when none of you could' or 'I told you I could take care of myself without being locked away somewhere'. He had gotten some answers, he wasn't exactly sure what they meant, but right now he wasn't feeling particularly good about it.

Sirius and Remus both just shook their heads, they didn't seem to have the words for what they were thinking now. Remus was the first to recover and break the silence, "We should get them out of here, Sirius."

"Right..." Sirius scrunched his eyes shut as if trying to concentrate. He leaned close to Remus and muttered a few words. The werewolf nodded in reply. Sirius pointed at Ernie and Sue, "Okay Remus will take you two. Harry and… Draco, you're with me. I'm assuming you'll have no trouble following us?"

Dobby bobbed his head up and down, "Yessir, I follows Master Draco sir!"

Hedwig, who had been amongst the trees, landed on Sirius' shoulder reminding them all not to forget her. The grip on Harry's arm was slightly tighter than was necessary but he didn't complain as he felt the uncomfortable sensation of Apparition whisk them away.

They arrived in a narrow alley, shadowed by two tall buildings on either side. It smelt of stale urine and just around the corner they could hear the bustle of a large town if not a city. The hum of engines and murmur of the crowds felt so loud after the deathly silence of the forest, it was almost enough to give Harry a headache.

Remus was already heading inside one of the buildings and the inside was no better than the outside. It was a block of flats with identical nondescript doors down a long drab corridor. Like the alley, it also stank of bodily fluids and perhaps something worse, with walls of grey concrete and a few spots of equally grey and peeling wallpaper. Harry and the others all tried to breathe through their mouths as the climbed the stairs.

They clambered up five flights of stairs and then without a word Remus turned around and led them back down one. If it hadn't been for the plastic numbers nailed to the doorway out of the stairs, Harry would never have realised that they had just gone from the fifth floor down to the third. Remus gave them a slightly apologetic smile before making them climb up again. This time, however, when they reached the next level, the number they saw declared that this was the fourth floor of this grubby little building.

The smell here was musty but not unpleasant and instead of the rows of doors as they had seen on the other levels, there was only a single one here a few feet away from the stairs. They followed Remus inside to a smallish room, very plainly decorated with white walls and brown wooden furniture. There was a kitchen area to one side and the rest of the room doubled as a dining area as well as the living space, which was mostly taken up by a table with six chairs around it. On the other side of the room were two doors, one was open and Harry could see the end of a bed there and not much else. The other door was closed, but Harry assumed it led to a bathroom.

"Are you hungry?" Sirius asked flatly. With the relief passed, he was beginning to look slightly annoyed, even angry, but he was visibly trying to reign it in. "Remus, sort them out will you? I'm going back to check the body."

The door closed with a bang and Remus sighed. "I'll get something going. Why don't you wash up, the bathroom is through there (Harry had been right). Harry come with me."

Ernie rushed to the bathroom while the other two settled into the chairs. Hedwig flew onto a long disused owl perch and Dobby stood by the walls in an unassuming manner. His eyes, however, kept darting towards Harry as if he was itching to go to him. Harry followed Remus to the kitchen. Harry opened his mouth before Remus could say anything, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I know I shouldn't hav-"

Remus raised a hand to stop him. "As much as I want to hear what you have to say, I'm sure you don't want to repeat yourself for Sirius. Let's just wait until he comes back. For now, lift up your hands please."

Harry was confused and stared down at them. He hadn't realised they were caked in dirt and blood, but now that he saw it, he started feeling a dull pain from where he had ripped a nail. He lifted them up for Remus to heal, but when the werewolf raised his wand, Harry's eyes widened and he quickly pulled them back. "The Trace!"

"They won't be able to as long as you're here." Remus reassured him. He muttered a spell first to vanish all the muck and then to heal the wounds. "It's a safehouse used during the wars. We're safe here."

Harry flexed his fingers, "Not… Dumbledore's?"

"No it's..." Remus glanced towards Sue and Draco. It was a small room and, intentionally or not, they were hearing everything that was being said. "...it's not."

Harry washed his face and hands in the sink, which for a moment Harry thought would not work from gurgling noise it made. Meanwhile, Remus raided the cupboards pulling out several tin cans of a questionable quality and, more importantly, age. "Erm… when was the last time this place was used?"

"A while, but these should still be fine to eat." Remus chuckled as he tapped each of them open. He sniffed each of them before pouring the contents into a pan. It was an assortment of mushy vegetables and pulses that started bubbling once it was on top of the fire. Remus found a small jar, opened it and sprinkled the contents into the pan while he crinkled his nose as if wanting to sneeze. There honestly wasn't much cooking to do and they remained silent until Remus let out a weary sigh, "We were all really worried about you… we thought…"

"I know… I'm sorry." Harry apologised again. Remus just grunted.

He ladled out the soup into bowls and handed one over to each of them. Harry wasn't feeling very hungry and it didn't look that appetising, but under Remus' scrutinising look he forced a spoonful of it into his mouth. It wasn't… terrible and he'd certainly relish it had he still been living with the Dursleys, but given the situation the food wasn't really agreeing with him. Harry vaguely wondered if Remus was trying to punish them with the soup. The others didn't seem to be enjoying it any more than Harry was. Ernie stopped after one mouthful like Harry. Draco and Sue didn't every try it and leaned back against their chairs. Remus didn't comment and started shovelling the food into his own mouth.

It was pretty much silent until Sirius walked back in about a quarter of an hour later. He shook his head at Remus' offer of food and collapsed into a seat. "I moved the bodies somewhere else."

"Bodies?" Harry's eyes widened. "There were more than one?"

Sirius grimaced looking as if tasting something bad in the air, "Two more, but they weren't preserved like… like the girl was. Corinne, I mean.

"Her parents maybe?" Harry thought out loud.

"Possibly. We'll have to have someone we can trust check them out." then Sirius turned a steely gaze to Harry. "But for now… Let's hear what you have to say for yourself."

* * *

 **A/N**

Yes! What do I have to say for myself? I keep forgetting to thank my beta, Lord Shasta, for all the help he's done! Thank you!

Also thank you to everyone faving, following and reviewing!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you all next week!


	49. Year 5 - Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Uneasy Alliance**

"Okay." Sirius scrubbed his hand over his stubbled jaw. He eyed Dobby who was standing in the corner, staring at the floor like a dog about to be punished. "I get you had the house elf helping you once you were on the ferry, but I still don't see how it was possible you left Diagon Alley without even being seen once. Or how you even got there in the first place."

"I..." Harry began, but once again he felt his tongue was tied. He didn't mean to do it, but every time it came to a point where they had used the invisibility cloak to get out of trouble, he somehow glossed over that part of the story. Sirius and Remus had frowned, but kept quiet when Harry hurried with the next part of the story. The three other teenagers stared at him strangely whenever he did this, but didn't comment on it. Until now.

"Oh for the love of-" Draco slapped the table in frustration. "Just tell them about the damned cloak and get it over with!"

"The cloak?" Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Harry has an invisibility cloak." Sue was looking at Harry, gauging his reaction while she said this.

"Really?" Sirius' eyes widened in surprise.

Harry managed to nod, but barely. Ernie pointed at the bag Harry still had over his shoulders. "Why don't you show them?"

Harry actually started to sweat as he tried to reach the bag. His fingers started to tremble as he undid the clasp and slowly opened it. His hand slid inside and when he touched the hidden compartment, he felt a jolt up his fingers. Harry was breathing heavily now, "I..I..I don't t..think I c..can..."

Remus and Sirius immediately stood and ran around the table to Harry before he had even finished speaking. Remus peered into Harry's eye while Sirius muttered spells over Harry's head. "Where did you get this cloak?"

"C..C..Corinne..." Harry said through chattering teeth. He was starting to feel a dull throb in the back of his head. "N..no… I m..mean… It w..wasn't h..her… right?"

Sirius looked alarmed, but he kept his voice steady and calm, "Harry, I'm going to have a look in your bag for the cloak, alright?"

"Okay..." Harry gave a jerky nod and shut his eyes.

He felt Sirius shuffling around in the bag, "Harry, I can't find it."

"It's in..." but Harry couldn't finish the sentence. Instead he took a deep breath and reached for the bag himself, tipping the contents onto the table, spilling clothes, chocolate and other random objects that he had brought with him. He then reached inside the almost empty bag, his arm vibrating like he was being shocked, and found the edges of the hidden compartment. A slight panic settled in his mind as he realised that this wasn't a natural reaction, he had absolutely no reason to hide the cloak from Sirius and Remus. He closed his eyes shut and tightened his grip until he felt something shift onto his hands, a small wooden box. He threw it onto the table as if it was a poisonous snake and everyone else stared at it as if it was one as well. "W..what's wrong with me?"

"A hex, possibly even a curse." Remus said. Sirius was concentrating on the box. It remained unmoving on top of the table, but it almost felt as if it should have been scuttling about, like a cornered rat or spider. There was an unpleasant feeling coming off of it, one that Harry couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before.

With a sharp grunt, Sirius slammed his wand against it so hard that Harry was worried he might snap it in two. The box shattered, exploding like a balloon, sprinkling shards of wood in a perfect circle and at the same instant, the shimmering invisibility cloak bloomed outwards like a silver flower in spring. Sirius stared at it in shock, "Impossible..."

Harry agreed with him, it was technically impossible for the cloak to fit inside the small box. He would have probably started screaming in wonder, fear or delight had he not been introduced to magic at the age of eleven. It was, however, very strange that Sirius and Remus, who each had probably seen more magic than the four teenagers had combined, looked the most shocked at the invisibility cloak spilling out in front of them.

Remus reached out and tentatively picked it up and moved his hand across it in a gentle stroke. He looked up at his friend, with a silent question in his eyes. Sirius tried to speak twice, then gave up. He just nodded weakly. Remus turned to Harry, "T..this is… James' cloak."

It was a simple sentence, but it took about a minute for the meaning to get through to Harry. He shook his head, "No. It isn't. It's Cor- No..."

"Harry, I can't be completely sure, but I don't think you've ever met the real Corinne Lansquenet. I think she was already dead by the time the Beauxbatons students arrived for the Tournament." Sirius said in a hoarse whisper. "And… I'm sure this… We've both been under it so many times before, there is no mistaking it."

Sue frowned, "But… you told us that the cloak the belonged to Harry's dad was destroyed when..."

"That's what we all thought." Remus raised a hand and started massaging his temple. "We… weren't quick enough to stop the attack, but we felt the effects of Grindelwald's death..."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked with a mixture of dread and curiosity.

"Didn't you see the house when you were at Godric's Hollow?" Harry shook his head. Sirius sighed, "The whole house is a ruin, they left it exactly as it was after the attack as a sort of… reminder of that day. There was an explosion that shook the whole street. When we entered the house the walls were barely standing, the furniture was destroyed and there was barely anything smaller left intact. James and Lily… were there and the wizard that the whole of Europe feared so much. And you obviously..."

"Professor Riddle took you to your aunt and uncle, while we... tended to your parents." Remus spoke when Sirius struggled to continue the story. "It was the worst day of our lives..."

"There was no one else in the house?" Harry closed his eyes and tried to recall a long lost memory. "It was just you two and Professor Riddle when you got there?"

Sirius frowned, "Actually no. Albus Dumbledore was there before us. He must have arrived only moments before, he was still standing outside the house when we Apparated in. We were quite surprised he was there, actually, with everything else going on that day..."

Harry took in a sharp breath at the mention of the wizard's name and he didn't hear the rest of what Sirius had said. Ernie and Sue looked at each other uneasily, but Draco had long run out of patience and snapped, "Dumbledore!"

"Yes, Albus Dumbledore." Remus said in mild surprise at the anger in Draco's voice. "Wh-"

"Potter said something after leaving Diagon Alley." Draco interrupted. "He said that the people responsible for… for… for the attack were doing so on Dumbledore's orders."

Two sets of eyebrows climbed to the rooftops at this statement. They looked towards Harry, but he kept his mouth shut. Sirius shook his head, "No. There were talks like that, mostly from, I suspect, your father. It was investigated, especially after that… dramatic revelation from Barschüler, but there was absolutely no proof of it. They identified some of the assassins that were captured or killed, and they were linked with a faction that opposed Barschüler back in Europe. Dumbledore had nothing to do with-"

"Potter knows something!" Malfoy slammed his fist into the table. "There is something he is not saying! About Albus Dumbledore!"

"Harry?" Sirius asked the boy tentatively.

Harry was quiet and everyone waited for him to speak. The two adults looked at him worriedly as Harry hugged himself tightly. But he wasn't doing this out of an unconscious need to protect himself, but rather he had felt a slightly itching in his side that wouldn't go away. When he reached for it, it disappeared and instead his hand went into a pocket in the inside of his coat.

Malfoy looked seconds away from jumping from his seat and throttling Harry until he opened his mouth. "Pott-"

"Sirius. Remus. I need to speak with you." Harry said in a hoarse whisper. "In private."

"Not a chance!"

Harry ignored the wand pointed at him and walked around the table and into the only other other room in the house. There were raised voices, there might even have been incantations called out, coming from behind him, but his thoughts were so caught up in his own head that he didn't actually hear what was being said. As Harry sat on the bed, Sirius raised his voice with a tone of finality and soon after that, he stomped into the room followed just behind by Remus.

Remus shut the door behind him and shot out a few spells at the door to make sure they weren't overheard. Sirius crouched opposite Harry, "What is it? Are you feeling okay?"

Harry wordlessly took off the coat and took out Mrs. Riddle's letter from the pocket. He held it up so that they could see it, "Read this. You have to be touching it while you do so, or you won't be able to. If you let go, you won't remember it."

If it sounded like a strange request, they didn't comment on it and they gripped two corners of it while their eyes darted through the lines on the parchment. Remus reached the vital part of the letter first, if his sudden intake of breath was any indication, Sirius was only a second behind with the same reaction. "This… this is..."

"Professor Riddle gave you this?" Harry nodded at Remus. The werewolf's hands twitched, as if he wanted to let go and use them to massage a painful spot on his head, but he kept a tight grip on it. "Dumbledore and Grindelwald..."

Sirius' hands shook as well, but Harry could tell from his face that it was from anger. "How could he not tell us? How could Riddle keep this from us? This is… this is..."

"Professor McGonagall knows..." Harry said in hopes of calming the ex-Auror down. Before he could stop himself he let this slip as well, "And Snape, I think..."

"Snape!" his hand shook so violently that he managed to rip a small corner before calming himself. "How could he-"

"Because Severus is an accomplished Occlumens." Remus said simply.

Sirius paused at that, his anger deflating slightly, but it was still there, "He could have found a way! Like… like the spell on this letter! I crossed paths with Dumbledore at least once a week while I worked at the Ministry. We had a building full of wizards and witches who would have torn him to shreds had they-"

"This is precisely why Professor Riddle kept it from us!" Remus raised his voice, cutting off Sirius' tirade. "What do you think people will see in the letter?"

Sirius frowned, "What do you mean? It clearly shows Dumbledore was working with Grindel-"

He stopped speaking when Remus let out a weary sigh, "The ramblings of a witch on her deathbed and one descended from Salazar Slytherin at that..."

"How-" Sirius looked furious. "How can you say that?"

"I am not saying that is what I think, I am saying this is what everyone else will see. Look at what happened during the summer, how easily most of Britain turned against the Headmaster, despite all that he has done for Hogwarts. They would scoff at the insinuation, Dumbledore wouldn't even have to defend himself." no one could deny the truth of Remus' words. Harry remembered what Neville Longbottom had said to him about Dumbledore, to the world he was a war hero. Even Harry's father, as far as Harry knew, thought that of Dumbledore, which was the reason he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

"You're right… Of course you're right..." Sirius let out a slow breath in an attempt to calm himself then he studied the letter again. "This must have been written about fifteen years before we were even born. Knowing Riddle, he probably would have done everything he could do to try and expose Dumbledore and if he wasn't able to find anything in all these years, I guess telling a few more people wouldn't have changed anything… Still… _Snape_?"

No one replied and Harry didn't think Sirius was expecting one, he just needed to vent while getting his head around this very unexpected revelation. Harry cleared his throat as the silence went on for too long, "I… I don't know if Professor Riddle wanted me to tell you, but I needed to be able to tell someone. I needed to talk to someone about this."

"I can understand why Riddle wanted to keep this information a secret. If it is true and Dumbledore realised there were people snooping around, tryin-" Sirius suddenly went pale. "Merlin… Harry, you were sent straight into the dragon's lair… Dumbledore could have..."

"I don't think so." Harry shrugged, sounding less fearful now that he was no longer in the old man's clutches, "He needs to keep his image as a force for good. He wouldn't have gained anything by having me die under his care."

Remus let out a humourless chuckle, "Harry, a wizard as skilled as he is in magic, as well as subterfuge, wouldn't need to kill you to do you harm."

Harry shuddered as he remembered something, "I think he might have done something..."

"What happened?" Sirius asked in alarm.

"The evening before I left Godric's Hollow… I was alone with Dumbledore for a few minutes..." Harry swallowed a lump in his throat. "The next… the next thing I remember is waking up the morning afterwards. I don't even remember returning to my room..."

They immediately let go of the letter, which caused a brief second of confusion, and began checking Harry for signs that he had been affected by some sort of hex or curse. "You're sure you don't feel anything wrong?"

Harry shook his head, "No, it's just the gap in my memory, nothing else. The next morning Dumbledore had already left. I asked someone and she told me that he had left the house early to meet someone named… Bode, I think it was."

"Bode..." Sirius frowned, "I think he works in the Department of Mysteries..."

"An Unspeakable?" Harry gasped, "One of the last things Professor Riddle said was about the possibility of one of Grindelwald's people being an Unspeakable. It's the only way that they could have known about… the prophecy..."

"Harry! Could you come out here please? There's something you need to see." Ernie suddenly called out from the other room. His voice was steady, but there was something about it that made Harry uneasy.

Sirius must have sensed the same thing, since his wand was out in an instant. Remus followed suit and they moved towards the door. Harry was firmly placed behind Sirius and told to stay there. Then he slowly reached for the handle and pulled the door open. With a silently whispered Shield Charm, Sirius stepped into the other room and froze. His face curled into a snarl, " _Malfoy!_ "

Harry sighed, wondering what the Slytherin boy had done now, and he followed Remus through to the other room. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Lucius Malfoy standing there, one hand twisting Ernie's arm behind his back and the other held a wand that was firmly pressed to the boy's throat. He found Sue in a similar situation with Draco, who had his wand pressed against the Ravenclaw's back. There was a soft thump thump coming from somewhere as well. It took a while for Harry to locate the source, but he finally managed to find Dobby, who was under the table, slamming his head against one of the legs repeatedly.

"Now, I was doubtful when Draco insisted that Potter knew something about the murder of my wife..." there was a manic glint in Lucius Malfoy's eyes that made him feel more dangerous than ever before. They weren't the eyes of a ruthless manipulator, but those of a desperate animal. "Maybe you do know something, maybe you do not, but I am quickly losing patience waiting for my son to uncover whatever it is you are hiding..."

Sirius managed to act a lot calmer than Harry was at this point, with all the quick thinking of a seasoned Auror. "Alright Malfoy, why don't we sit down and talk about this? If you just let Ernie and Sue go, we'll tell you-"

"Do not patronise me Black! You will tell me right now!" Lucius snarled. "Who are the people that attacked us? What was Albus Dumbledore's role in all this?"

Sirius was immensely confused by this question, but showed none of it on his face. Right now, Harry was the one holding the letter and therefore the only one that knew the true extent of Dumbledore's betrayal of the wizarding world. Sirius kept his calm tone, "Malfoy, you already know everything we do. They looked into Dumbledore's possible invol-"

Ernie let out an ear piercing scream and there was the faint smell of burning flesh in the air. Lucius Malfoy pulled his wand back slightly and Harry saw that the tip was glowing with a pale blue incendiary heat. The Hufflepuff started shaking as he let out a little whimper of pain.

"Ernie!" Sue sobbed as she tried to go to her boyfriend, but Draco grabbed her arm and held her in place.

For a moment he looked conflicted, hesitating at the fact that his father had no trouble hurting a boy the same age that he was, but then he remembered what this was all for. His face hardened and he watched the three people across the room from him. Draco tried to ignore the look of anger and betrayal on Harry's face as his eyes wandered over to what the boy was holding. "Father, Potter is holding something. He didn't have that when they left the room."

Harry hurriedly stuffed the letter into his pocket, but Lucius Malfoy had already seen it. "Potter, hand over the parchment."

"It has nothing to do with the people that attacked you!" Harry insisted.

The elder Malfoy showed the tip of his wand over Ernie's shoulder, "If I press my wand into this boy's neck, he will not be able to feel anything underneath that spot for the rest of his life. If I press a little harder, that life will not be very long."

"NO!" Harry shouted, alongside Sirius, Remus and Sue, when Lucius moved to carry out his threat. "I can't show this to you… I made a promise to... Professor Riddle."

He had hoped that mentioning the former Slytherin Headmaster's name would make both the Malfoys lower their wands, but Lucius was determined, "Would he want you to protect this secret at the cost of a life of one of his students?"

Harry reluctantly shook his head. The Professor Riddle he knew would never consider that an acceptable cost. He tried to stare down the man, looking for any signs that he might be convinced to stop this, but there was only the rage of a grieving husband. "L..let them go and I'll show you."

"That's not how it works, Potter. Dobby! Bring me the parchment in his hands!" Lucius barked out a sharp order and the house elf finally stopped his self punishment with a shudder. He was finally standing in front of Harry, large bulging eyes full of tears and his mouth moving between a silent apology and a wail. Harry handed it over and waited for it to reach Lucius Malfoy. Sirius tensed as he lowered the wand away from Ernie, but he gave an offhand order to his servant, "Dobby, kill the boy if they try to do anything to me or Draco."

"Y..yes… m..master..." Dobby let out a sob, but was forced to nod in acceptance of the order and in that moment Harry felt as disgusted about the treatment of house elves as Hermione had been during the year before.

Lucius Malfoy didn't unfold the letter right away, instead he studied it with a slight frown, tracing his wand over it. "It seems Tom Riddle truly wanted the contents of this to remain a secret. It is, fortunately, a spell I am familiar with."

He jabbed at the letter with his wand while he gave a short bark of an incantation that Harry didn't catch. He didn't hear it, because at the exact same moment, his mind was flooded with information that had been hidden from himself. Two sharp intakes of breath told him that the same thing had happened to Remus and Sirius.

Then everyone waited in silence as Lucius opened the letter and glared at the words. It started with a confused frown but as the seconds passed and he reached the most vital information contained within, he turned shocked and surprised as he gripped the decades old letter with white knuckled fury.

Draco lost his patience and asked, in a tone he probably didn't ever take with his father, "Father? What is it? What does it say?"

Lucius looked up, startled, forgetting for a moment the two hostages he had taken and the hostile glares coming from the other side of the room. "I can see why Tom Riddle went to such great lengths to conceal this. If there is truth in these words, it is very dangerous information indeed… Let the girl go Draco..."

"Father?" he only hesitated a moment before releasing his grip on Sue's arm. The couple ran towards each other and as soon as their hands met, they ran around the table to where Harry and the others were.

Remus was having a look at the wound on the back of Ernie's neck while he was being comforted by his girlfriend. Harry had given the boy's arm a squeeze as he passed, but now he stood next to Sirius, mirroring the father and son standing opposite them. There was so much tension in the air that the sound of a pin dropping would have probably set everyone off.

"Why-" Sirius jerked his arm, but managed to stop himself from cursing Lucius Malfoy on the spot the moment he opened his mouth. Lucius tried to look unfazed, but there wasn't even the pretence of civility here. A wrong word was liable to get him and his son badly cursed or even killed and there wasn't a Hogsmeade full of villagers outside the door to stay the raging ex-Auror's hands. Lucius licked his lips and tried again, "Why don't we have a seat. I think there is much to discuss..."

"You are _insane_ if you think we have anything to discuss." Sirius spat. He didn't take his eyes off the man opposite him, "Remus, how is Ernie?"

"He's okay. Just a small burn."

"I would never have done anything too drastic." Lucius said smoothly. It felt like such a blatant lie that no one bothered calling him out on it. Ernie glared at the man with a loathing Harry had never before seen on the Hufflepuff boy's face.

"Go. To. Hell." Sirius growled.

Lucius made a show of loosening his grip on his wand as he slowly put it away. At the same time, he stepped forwards slightly so that Draco was shielded from view. "We share a common enemy, Black. Every single person in this room has probably been affected by the Crowking's actions, as have most wizards, witches and… even the Muggles living in this city. It is an enemy only a fool would take lightly and now I have learnt that he is twice as dangerous as I had originally thought."

"What does Grindelwald have to do with all this?" Draco uttered the question that the teenagers, other than Harry, were burning with a curiosity to know the answer to. "I thought this was about Albus Dumbledore?"

Even with practically everything laid out in front of them, it seemed it was impossible for them to connect the final piece of the puzzle. Even with the scrap of information concerning Dumbledore's choice of friends early in life, it was impossible to even fathom where his true allegiance lay.

"Albus Dumbledore was working with Grindelwald. Even after his return with a cure for his sister's condition, he was secretly working with him." Harry spoke in a rush. He had been keeping secrets from his friends for months and it felt wonderful to finally let them know what was going on. "They were there together when Professor Riddle's grandfather and uncle were murdered. Dumbledore and Grindelwald were the ones that murdered them."

There was a stunned silence. But Lucius Malfoy seemed to gain a little confidence at these words, "Given these facts I believe it is your plan to take him down. Waging a war against Albus Dumbledore could be described as suicidal at best, do not refuse my offer of help when it is freely given."

"A Malfoy's offer of help is never freely given." Sirius said, but some of the bite from before was no longer there.

For a brief moment, there was a flash of pain in Lucius Malfoy's eyes, a look completely opposite to the one he had while he threatened Ernie. "The price was paid for by Dumbledore when he murdered my wife."

With that he stepped forwards, not even flinching when Sirius threw his wand up again, and pulled out a seat on the table.

* * *

There was a lot of arguing coming from, unsurprisingly, the teenagers. Draco obviously considered it his magic given right that he should stay and listen to the discussions. Harry's argument, although he hated to admit it, was pretty much the same. Ernie and Sue held a mixture of curiosity as well as the thoroughly acceptable view that Lucius Malfoy could not be trusted, so the more people that could poke a hole in whatever he wanted to say, the better. Sirius and Remus were thinking the same but would have preferred it if the younger ones had been in a completely different city altogether, but they also did not think listening in on plans to take down one of the most powerful wizards in Europe was suitable for them. Surprisingly, Lucius agreed with them and threatened to have the house elf take Draco away if he kept acting like an undignified and petulant teenager.

Harry was mentally preparing himself to argue for hours, but Remus quietly took him aside and reasoned that if he was there, they couldn't stop Ernie and Sue from sitting down with them. The werewolf was rather blunt with his words, saying that by telling them about Dumbledore and Grindelwald's relationship, he had already put them in a lot of danger and begged him not to make it worse. Harry grudgingly agreed, but only after extracting a promise from Remus to tell him everything afterwards.

So they waited in the kitchen where they could only hear a faint and distant buzzing and nothing else from the three people sitting around the table. Dobby had disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a bag full of groceries larger than himself and was now chattering amicably to no one in particular while he prepared something slightly more edible than Remus' earlier attempt at food.

Harry stood next to Ernie and Sue, forming a barrier between them and Draco who occupied the other side of the very small kitchen space. He moved between giving suspicious glares at Draco, to staring at the boy's father, who's face was the only one he could see from this angle, attempting for the first time in his life to read a person's lips.

"It's really true then?" Ernie asked. He rubbed the little spot on the back of his neck that Remus had healed. "About Dumbledore and Grindelwald."

Harry gave a small nod, unsure of how much more he should say. He remembered Remus' words and was starting to feel extremely guilty about bringing them along with him.

"And Professor Riddle? He's not…? He didn't…?" Sue asked tentatively.

"No. He isn't the one that made me attack my relatives. It's... complicated and I can't explain it fully, but he had to play the part of a dark wizard because of me... so that I wouldn't get in trouble." this part Harry had no problem revealing. Frankly, he wished he could shout of the Headmaster's innocence from the rooftops. "I- Oh, thanks erm… Dobby..."

"No needs to thank Dobby great sir!" the house elf had appeared by his side holding up a tray and a beaming grin, one which turned slightly watery when Harry had thanked the elf. Harry picked up one of the biscuits and popped it into his mouth. It was warm and sweet and melted into a buttery crumble in his mouth. Ernie and Sue echoed his appreciative murmurs and Dobby waddled over to Draco. The boy snapped at him without uncrossing his arms and Dobby fled, now using the tray as a shield to protect himself.

"Dobby, I erm… haven't thanked you yet. I know you were following Lucius Malfoy's orders, but you protected us from bad people trying to track us down. And you helped us through the spell in the woods. So… thank you Dobby." Harry said kindly.

"Yes, thank you Dobby." Sue and Ernie smiled down at the elf.

Dobby's smile wavered, his expression freezing on one that Harry could only describe as shock. He wondered if he had broken some sort of house elf etiquette and was about to apologise for his transgression, when Dobby started emitting a low wail. It was difficult to make out what he was saying, but the general gist of it seemed to be he had never been thanked so genuinely in all his life. Harry and his two friends tried desperately to soothe him and stop his crying.

Once he had calmed down to a few sniffles, Harry looked back at Draco and lowered his voice, "Dobby, do the Malfoys treat you badly?"

Harry suspected Dobby was one of the elves that could very well have featured in one of Hermione's horror stories concerning elf enslavement. Dobby shuffled uncomfortably on his feet, purposefully avoiding Harry's gaze. "They is Dobby's masters… Dobby is a good house elf..."

That answer, which was not an actual answer, was enough for Harry to confirm his suspicions. The pitying looks on Ernie and Sue's faces told him that they probably thought the same thing. There was a sound of a throat clearing and Dobby jumped in fright before scurrying away so quickly, Harry would have believed he had Disapparated.

Harry really wanted to draw his wand but reminded himself that it wouldn't be a good idea to curse the son of their latest 'ally' and just contented himself with scowling as harshly as he could manage. Ernie didn't have the same reservations and aimed his wand at Draco, while shielding Sue behind him. With a stony face that threatened violence, he snarled, "What do you want Malfoy?"

He looked at the wand aimed at him warily and spoke slowly, "I would… like to apologise. For earlier. To you especially, Li."

Harry bit back a snort and remained silent. If Draco Malfoy was going to apologise, something he didn't think the boy had ever done before, he wasn't going to stop him. Honestly, he was tired of this childish rivalry he had going on with the Slytherin. Harry didn't like him and he doubted any of his friends could bear the smug, arrogant little git any more than he could, but compared to the greater threat of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, Draco was no more than a gnat besides an evil twin-headed dragon. But he wasn't the one that had been threatened and hurt.

Sue sniffed angrily, "Apologise for what exactly? For threatening me with a wand to my back? Or are you apologising for your father almost murdering Ernie?"

"We… needed to know what Potter was hiding." the way he said it made it seem that Harry had been the one holding the wand to his friends. "My mother was murdered. I wanted, no, I needed answers..."

Sue shook her head and she still looked outraged, but she didn't say anything. Ernie squeezed her hand and spoke in a low voice, "Malfoy, I don't know what I would have done in your situation, I hope I never have to find out. But I swear, on my magic, if you do anything like that to Sue, to any of my friends again, I will make sure that it's the last time you do."

Harry turned in shock to stare at his normally mild-mannered friend. Ernie had always been the one that encouraged dialogue instead of resorting to wands. He had been the one that pulled his friends back, especially Ron, when Malfoy said or did something to push them over the edge. There was a genuine fury in his eyes making Harry shudder slightly and Harry wondered if all Hufflepuffs were born like this or if the fierce protectiveness was something instilled in them the moment they joined the house of the Badger.

"I..I understand." Malfoy finally managed to say. "I won't."

Any further awkward talk was broken by the three wizards getting up from their seats. None of them looked happy exactly, but they didn't look as if they were going to start sending curses at each other.

"Draco, we are leaving." Lucius stated as he headed for the door.

"I thought we were..." Draco moved to follow his father but was hesitant in his steps.

"Whatever needs to be done does not require us to stay… here." Lucius gave a dismissive gesture at the tired little room. He gave his son a look of mock surprise, "Unless you _wish_ to stay with your… friends?"

Draco quickly shook his head and moved around the table. Dobby dragged his feet as he followed them. He turned to Harry every few steps he took and gave him a look like a puppy that had just been kicked.

Before the Malfoys reached the door, Harry spoke out loud for everyone to hear, "Sirius. Can we really trust them?"

Lucius stopped, with one hand on the handle. "Mr. Potter, do not be so childish as to let personal feelings come in the way of stopping a great threat to the wizarding world. Growing up means learning that one cannot always choose one's allies."

"You've already shown everyone how far you are willing to go to get what you want. How do we know you won't resort to such methods again, if you believed it would get you your revenge?" Harry asked stubbornly.

Lucius Malfoy stared at him with a face that betrayed no emotion, "To do so would make me several enemies, including Tom Riddle, when the time comes for him to return. To risk a fissure in this already tenuous alliance would be a foolish thing to do indeed."

Harry understood that the last sentence was meant for himself as much as Lucius, but he pretended he hadn't heard the implication. "I don't believe you. Prove it."

Irritation flashed in the man's eyes. "And how would I do so Mr. Potter? Should I offer you my flesh to burn? Or do you expect me to leave my son as a hostage here with you?"

Harry grimaced, he didn't think he could ever get along with a man who's immediate thoughts of proving trust went to such dark places. Harry took in a deep breath and smoothed his features. He tried not to look too nervous, or hostile, and tried to speak with confidence, "Free Dobby."

"What?" Lucius frowned.

"Your house elf, Dobby." the little creature in question started to tremble, then looked up at Harry with wide eyed hope before whimpering and shaking his head violently. "Prove to me you can do a selfless act of good. Something that won't get you anything in return."

"I could argue that it would prove nothing, if you would give me your trust for an elf." Lucius looked at Harry with a shrewd expression. "I could also argue that you will never trust me, whether I free the elf or not."

Harry shrugged as if unconcerned, "I guess you'll just have to trust that I will."

Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy glared at each other as if they were having a staring contest, everyone else waited with baited breath. Dobby was rocking on his heels, sweating anxiety out of every pore.

"Elf!"

Dobby jumped a foot in the air, then grovelled at his master. "Y..y..yes M..master L..Lucius?"

"Do you wish for freedom?" his words were almost like a challenge, daring his servant to defy him. "Most of your kind do not take to being without a master very well."

Dobby opened and closed his mouth several times, but no sound would come out other than a little whimper. He started to nod, then violently shook his head. He turned to blink at Harry, who could do nothing else but give him an encouraging smile. Finally in a faint whisper, Dobby managed to say, "Yes."

"Very well." Lucius Malfoy took out a single glove from his pocket and threw it towards the elf, who deftly snatched it out of the air before it could hit him in the head. He stared at the object in open mouthed wonder. Lucius Malfoy then left the room without a second glance, as if he had purged the thought of ever having owned Dobby from his mind. Draco followed him, but he couldn't help but give the house elf a slightly regretful look. Whether he was regretting how he had treated Dobby in the past or the fact that he had one less servant he could boss around, Harry didn't know and he honestly didn't care. Dobby the house elf was free.

Dobby's mood was infectious as he joyfully danced around the room, with the glove fitted over his right ear. Everyone else sat down and enjoyed the delicious meal he had prepared.

"Brilliant. Just brilliant." Sirius laughed as he tore into a chicken drumstick. "I had no idea what you were up to, but… Haha! Just brilliant!"

"I must admit I thought you were just picking a fight." Remus chuckled. "I should have known better."

"I'm surprised Dobby took it so well." Sue mused. Her cheeriness was coming from watching the house elf practically bouncing off the walls as well as the Malfoys' departure.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Lucius was right, to most house elves, being without a master is one of the worst things that could happen to them. I think it physically hurts them somehow." Ernie explained.

Sue shook her head with a small grin, "Hermione didn't like it when we told her that. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear about Dobby though. Especially when she hears who his master used to be."

At the mention of their friend, the two boys and the girl looked wistful. They were sure Hermione, as well as several others they had left behind, would be out of their minds with worry. Harry had a feeling that it would be unlikely that they would get to see her for quite a long time. He tried to push these thoughts away, "So… What did Lucius Malfoy say? What's the plan?"

Sirius and Remus shared a look. Remus put down his cutlery and said, "Before we talk about that, there is something else we need to discuss."

"What?" Harry asked warily.

"Ernie and Sue. You two need to return home." Sirius raised a hand, silencing the two before they could speak. "The last we heard, both of your families are camping outside the Auror offices. They've barely eaten, they haven't slept, they're terrified and worried about you two..."

Their faces crumpled with pain. They had tried not to show worry while travelling, but actually hearing what their families were going through was making them feel guilty. Sue mumbled, "Can't we owl them, tell them we're fine?"

"It won't work." Sirius shook his head, "Telling them you're with us will only make them… more worried than they are now. Remus and I are currently wanted in questioning for Harry's… erm… disappearance."

"You didn't tell us that!" Harry groaned. "How bad is it?"

"You don't need to worry about it." Remus said firmly, "Right now, they can't directly connect us with it, but if they hear you two are with us, they'll probably…"

Sirius shook his head, "But we don't care about that, that's not the problem. What we need to do is going to be dangerous. Ernie, look at what Malfoy almost did to you! I assure you, if there was a way for Harry to safely return to Hogwarts, he'd be going with you as well."

Harry just about managed to stop scowling at the comment, out of respect to Ernie and Sue. Instead he asked, "But… will it be safe for them? Now that they know about..."

"It's going to be complicated, but we have a plan worked out." Sirius hesitated, "You obviously won't be able to… keep the memory."

"Y..you're going to… Obliviate us?" Ernie asked with trepidation.

"No. Neither of us are experts and we won't risk permanent damage." Sirius quickly reassured him. "We're doing to try and recreate the spell that Professor Riddle used on something that you'd carry with you on your person all the time, like a piece of jewellery or something like that."

"How are you going to explain the fact that we disappeared for the last few days?" Sue asked with a frown.

"This is the complicated part." Remus sighed. "They've thoroughly searched Diagon Alley as well as the adjoining areas like Nocturne Alley, for all three of you, but trying to conduct a search in the Muggle parts of London is taking longer. The story we're going with is that you managed to escape when the attacks started happening, but then you were involved in a car accident and you've been unconscious in a Muggle hospital until now."

"Will they buy it?" Sue asked sceptically.

"They will after we find enough Muggles and modify their memories so that they'll be witnesses to the accident. Muggle Healers, law enforcement officials, even random pedestrians, we're going to go through the whole list to make sure no one suspects anything different." Sirius said with a confident nod.

"That… sounds really complicated." Harry said. "How are you going to manage that, with just the two of you? Are you going to contact Professor McGonagall for help?"

"No, right now she has enough eyes on her that they'll be tracking her every move if she steps one foot outside of Hogwarts." Sirius grimaced. "Sorry, you're not really going to like this, but we're relying on Malfoy's help for this… Look I know you all hate him right now, and so do I, but he's honestly our best chance. He has the manpower to actually pull this off and… I know it sort of feels like we're risking both your lives with this, but what Malfoy said before he left was right. We are… working together, and we assured him in the strongest words possible that if anything happens to either of you, if he deviates from the plan in any way, this alliance is off."

"We… don't really have a say in this, do we?" Sue asked, looking slightly disappointed.

"Sorry." Sirius shook his head apologetically. "I know you both want to help and we're incredibly thankful that Harry had the two of you to look after him, but you're underage. You need to get back to your families, back to school."

"School might seem unimportant right now, given everything that you've learnt today, but there will come a time when you'll be grateful for what you are taught." Remus was silent for a moment, frowning as if in a mental debate with himself about what he was about to say next. "Professor Riddle… he always said that the war with Grindelwald wasn't yet over and now there is Albus Dumbledore to contend with as well. He was sure that the peace would be broken again in his lifetime. I think the time may come soon, sooner than we wish. So go and study, learn, practice, not for O.W.L.s or for your parents' pride, do it so that when the times comes, you will know that one spell that could very well save the life of someone you love, or even your own."

* * *

 **A/N**

Thank you to everyone reading! Seemed to have gained quite a lot of you recently! It's enough to make me feel a bit nervous (more than I usually do) when I get around to preparing the next chapter to upload... Oh and thank you to by beta, Lord Shasta, for his help!

Oh, wanted to mention this in my last chapter, but completely forgot. You know in the last chapter of the 4th year, I vaguely mumbled something about Agatha Christie in my notes? No? Well, I did. Corinne was named after a character in an Agatha Christie novel, one of my favourites. In the novel, the character is called 'Cora', which I changed into the French form, but could thankfully keep the surname Lansquenet, which is already sufficiently French. Basically if anyone realised where I got the name from, they probably would have been able to guess what was in store for Corinne in my fic. There are quite a few parallels... The book is called 'After the Funeral' in case anyone is interested... although I may have spoiled it by pointing out that there are parallels...

Quick reply to guest reviews.

Athos - Thank you. =)

M - Sorry I haven't responded to some of your latest reviews. I don't really like responding in my notes. Yep, there really was a Corinne. She was, after all, a Beauxbatons student that came along with the others for the tournament. I believe I had another student mentioning she's been quite moody since returning for the summer in one of the previous chapters. 'She' was smart in knowing that the one thing that would cement their friendship was also something that Harry would be reluctant in sharing with others. Even though it ended up as a crush, I think he would have been more happy about being able to talk to someone about his issues with the Dursleys. With Sirius and Remus about, I think there will be a close set of eyes watching to make sure Harry doesn't do anything 'stupid'. Probably...

Thank you for the kind words in the second review. Glad to know you're enjoying the fic, despite Harry. =)


	50. Year 5 - Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **A Change of Face**

An old man and an old woman watched as a younger woman walked out of a nondescript building, so ordinary in fact that no one around them seemed to even notice the building's existence. In a blink of an eye, she was gone. The old couple waited until they were beyond the notice of anyone in the almost empty street and disappeared as well.

They appeared again somewhere else, a different city of an entirely different country. The younger woman they had been watching was not there, but they hadn't expected her there. Yet. There were at least a dozen locations that she would go to first before she eventually made her way back home, constantly watching her back in case she was followed. In all honestly, it wasn't really needed, but the paranoia had been ingrained in her while she went through the training for her job. It was a good thing that the old couple knew her ultimate destination.

"How long do you reckon?" the old man said conversationally. "Five minutes? Or do you think she'll take one of the longer routes?"

"She looked pretty tired." the old lady mused. Her clothes were comfortable and comforting, like something a grandmother would be wearing while her children and grandchildren would come to visit, yet she shifted uneasily on her feet. "I'd say the five minute route."

"Hmm." the old man nodded in agreement. They waited in silence for some time. Then he turned to look at the old woman a slow grin creeping up his face. "Granny, what big-"

"Finish that sentence and I _will_ punch you in the face." the old woman snapped.

The air snickered.

The old man raised his hands placatingly as the old woman made a growling noise from the back of her throat, like some sort of wild animal. "Just a joke. Just a joke."

"You do realise," the old woman said, a single eyebrow raised threateningly, "that I'm going to pour some down your throat the first chance I get?"

The old man chuckled. "Give it your best shot. Wait, here she comes."

Just like they had planned, they started walking towards her, their voices raised slightly. As they passed the younger woman, who had turned to move towards the door of a house, the old woman said sharply, "I told you! Just ask for directions, won't you?"

"Oh give it a rest pet." the old man said, with a sudden Welsh accent coming out of nowhere. The old woman turned to him with an incredulous expression and there was a suppressed snort of laughter coming from somewhere. "I'm sure it's just around the corner..."

The younger woman, who look mildly surprised to hear her native tongue spoken in this city, walked over to them with a cheerful smile on her face. "Hello there! On holiday, are you? Anything I can help you with?"

"There you go, an English lass! Just ask her already!" the old woman slapped the man on the back. Despite her thin old frame, there was enough strength in her to cause the old man to stumble forwards a few steps before righting himself.

The man grumbled, as he pulled out a piece of paper with something written on it with an almost illegible scrawl. "Well now, I'm sure we're close by. This is the place we were looking for..."

The young woman tensed slightly when they moved forwards, crowding her in front of her house, but they didn't make a move to do anything other than yammer on about how there were no signs in English pointing them in the direction they needed to go. They talked about the people, about how unfriendly they were and then about how the streets were too wide, or too narrow, the buildings so very foreign and insensible. The young woman gave up trying to reply to each of these comments after a few minutes and let the elderly couple drone on without really listening. This was why when someone whispered a single word that normally would have made her jump aside whilst drawing her wand, she didn't react to it, let alone hear it.

She slumped forwards and the two people caught her before she fell onto the ground. The older woman went through the unconscious one's pockets and pulled out a wand, which she used to unlock the door in front of them. Then they carried her inside. This had all happened in a matter of seconds, not enough time for anyone to have really noticed, had there been anyone to see them. They left the door wide open, something that might have attracted attention if anyone did happen to pass by, but after a few seconds the door swung shut as if an invisible hand had guided it quietly but firmly back into place.

When the young woman woke up about ten minutes later, she instantly realised something was wrong and her mind started working very quickly. She was pretending to still be unconscious, but she tried to move her arm and legs. It didn't work. She opened one eyelid a fraction of an inch and breathed a mental sigh of relief. She was in her home, tied very firmly to one of the dining room chairs.

She grinned internally as she made her wrists slightly thicker, before shrinking them again. Thank Merlin she was a Metamorphmagus. But even after doing this for a minute, the rope around her wouldn't loosen. She let out a foul stream of curses in her mind.

"Well well well..." a voice said cheerfully. "She's awake..."

She cursed internally once more and wondered if there was any point pretending to be knocked out for a while longer. Her mentor probably would have been able to put on a convincing act and get them to spill their whole life story in the process, but she wasn't her mentor. Sitting still for too long made her antsy, and her best chance of getting out of this was going on the attack with the only weapon she had left, her tongue.

She snapped her head up and glared at the old man who had just spoken. She noted, irritably, that he had lost the Welsh accent. The old woman was sitting in a chair, toying with a wand which she immediately recognised as her own. She was terrified but none of it showed on her face. She kept her voice even and did her best impression of those obnoxious Slytherin girls she had hated so much at Hogwarts, "Congratulation. You've captured me. So what do you intend to do?"

The old man turned to his companion with a grin, as if sharing some inside joke. He kept the smile when he turned back to the captive, "Well now, Miss Nymphadora Tonks-"

"Tonks will be fine, thank you." the Auror said coolly. It was not entirely out of irritation, the more she could learn about these people the better. It wasn't a lot, but knowing if they would listen to her small request would help her in the long run. At least, that was what she hoped.

The old man's grin widened, "Of course, _Tonks_. No need to be too frightened, we just had a few questions we wanted to ask. We'll be out of your hair soon enough."

Tonks' hair transformed into a fiery red, "Loosen the ropes, then we'll talk."

"Maybe in a bit." Tonks considered herself pretty good at reading people, but with these two she was unsure. There were no threats of violence, just polite conversation with no hints they were being untruthful. So either these two genuinely wanted to ask her something then let her go, or they were completely unhinged and they would kill her and disappear the moment they had gotten what they needed from her, loosening the ropes before they did all that of course. "Our question, _Tonks_ , is this. Why did you refuse the offer to become a member of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"I- what?" Tonks blinked in confusion. That wasn't the question she had been expecting. "Why does it matter? Why do you want to know? _How_ did you even find out?"

While it wasn't a secret that there was an army of sorts led by Dumbledore, people who actually knew the name this secret group were rare enough. On top of that, she had barely told anyone about the fact that Moody had approached her with the offer. The old man gave nothing away and just grinned, "It doesn't matter how we found out. Surely it won't hurt anyone to tell us that?"

No, it wasn't exactly the kind of information that dark wizards and witches could extract from Aurors that ended up with a lot of people getting hurt. She shrugged, at least she tried to, but she was still tied down, "Dumbledore's not the only one working to get rid of the threat of Grindelwald's remnants. I have trust in the European Ministry and its Aurors to do just that."

"But Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix..." there was a hint of emotion in the old man's voice that Tonks managed to catch. This man was angry at Dumbledore for some reason. "It's a very prestigious group of witches and wizards, headed by one of the most powerful and influential of our age. It's something very rarely offered and many would jump at the chance to be a part of it."

Tonks waited in silence, carefully considering her next words. If these people had something against Dumbledore, it probably wouldn't hurt her to tell a bit of the truth. "There are a few things he's done in recent years… maybe they were necessary, maybe they weren't, I don't know but… I don't like it. I can't really give you anything more than that."

The man nodded thoughtfully, he turned to his partner who returned a small nod back. "One more question then, Tonks. Last year, you were reprimanded for questioning the order authorising deadly force if Tom Riddle was found."

At that Tonks really had to struggle to hide the surprise and fear from showing on her face. It wasn't exactly a secret that she respected the former Headmaster greatly, she had even grumbled about it to one or two close colleagues when they made the announcement. She never questioned orders from her superiors, there really hadn't been any need to do so in her career so far, but she didn't know if she could actually bring herself to attack Tom Riddle with the use of Unforgivables like they were told to. She wanted to talk to Moody about it, but even if she could actually find a time when he didn't seem to be busy with something, she knew that he had close ties with Albus Dumbledore, who she suspected had a strong hand in treating Tom Riddle like the worst of Grindelwald's Witnesses.

So she went to another person, a superior yes, but one that had always been friendly towards her. Tonks didn't know exactly what she wanted to say, but she wanted to speak to someone who might have been able to influence the decision so that they could try to capture Riddle instead of killing him outright. She was told quickly and bluntly not to question orders like that and to not show sympathy for a criminal who had just about done everything other than kill someone outright. She had promised Tonks that she would keep the conversation between themselves and told the young Auror in no uncertain terms that she should probably do the same.

Tonks had listened to the advice, but she did end up venting her feelings to her mother and no one else. The fact that these people knew that private conversation… These people knew far more than she was comfortable with. "I don't know what you mean. And that wasn't even a question."

"Alright then. Here's the question for you." the man leaned forwards, "What ties do you have with Tom Riddle?"

"None!" Tonks said quickly.

"Then why get yourself in so much trouble trying to protect him?" the man queried.

"I'm not trying to protect him! I just..." Tonks bit her lips." I just think… it's better if we capture him alive to question him, that's all..."

"There's more..." the old man said as he leaned forwards. "Say it and we'll cut the ropes. Say it and you'll go free."

What she had thought since the incident last summer, was that something didn't add up. She knew there were witnesses that had heard Riddle himself admit to these crimes and Minerva McGonagall herself had testified to being under the Imperius Curse cast by her own husband. All the evidence pointed to Tom Riddle being a very clever and patient dark wizard. Despite all this, her gut was telling her that there was something else going on. When she attended Hogwarts, she thought that he was a wonderful Headmaster, more so than most of the other first years in her house. It was most likely because she had grown up hearing good things about the man from her mother, who often said Tom Riddle was the best thing that had ever happened to Hogwarts. The man Tonks knew all her school life, the man that her mother had known throughout _her_ time at Hogwarts, wasn't someone who would do all those horrific things that the whole of Europe was clamouring about.

Tonks closed her eyes and kept her mouth tightly shut. She needed to take control of the situation. "I'll answer your question if you answer one of mine. Who the hell are you?"

The old woman cleared her throat. She looked pointedly at a clock hanging on the wall. The man shook his head, "That's not how this works Tonks. Just answer the question… No? Well, you leave me with little choice..."

Tonks tensed and struggled against the bindings as the man reached inside his jacket. Just when she was thinking these two were different… this is what it always came down to, torture or compliance. The biggest argument she had with her mother had come about when she told her parents that she wanted to become an Auror. She could imagine her mother saying 'I told you so', but Tonks really wouldn't mind hearing it, just as long as she had a chance to see her parents again.

What the man pulled out wasn't a wand, but a glass vial of clear liquid. Tonks managed to keep her voice from shaking too much, "It's a criminal offence to use Veritaserum against Aurors, punishable by up to ten years-"

"Yes, we know. We know..." the man muttered. "Just open your mouth."

"Fine! Fine!" Tonks shook her head as the man reached for her. "I'll answer your damned question, just keep that away from me!"

She expected to be ignored and dosed with the potion anyway, but surprisingly he took a step back and waited for her. "Well?"

"What was- Fine! Riddle!" she said quickly as the man narrowed his eyes and shook the bottle. "I honestly haven't seen him all that much once I left school. He was always decent to me, he was decent to everyone, Slytherin or not. I know what the papers say and I've heard far worse being said of him in the European Auror Headquarters, but… I… The whole thing with Riddle was just one of a whole lot of messed up things that started happening last year. I just… feel there is something else going on. I don't know if Riddle is guilty or not, but I'd just feel a lot more comfortable if I heard his side of the story. I… can't believe he would throw away everything he had accomplished, just like that."

Tonks glared at the two people, who smiled slightly and nodded at each other in satisfaction. The old woman looked at the clock again, "Time's up."

"What-" Tonks' words froze in her throat as she watched the two people's face start to bubble and melt. Her jaw dropped open then her forehead scrunched up in a furious glower as she shrieked, " _Sirius!_ "

"Sorry Tonks." he grinned apologetically then he flicked his wand at her, making the ropes disappear, "Just had to make sure-"

Tonks leapt up and with an angry cry she stomped towards him and kicked him in the shin. "-ing bastard! How- You complete- And you! Remus! From _him_ I might have expected this kind of crap, but you! You-"

Sirius let out a cry of pain as she kicked him once more, in the exact same spot "I know you're angry but just hear us out will-"

"Merlin's beard, what are you even doing here?" Tonks suddenly gasped, looking worried. "You know they're looking for you, right? They think you had something to do with Harry's kidnapping!"

"I assure you, we didn't have anything to do with Harry's kidnapping." Remus said as he tried to struggle out of an old ladies' jumper that was now far to small for his body.

Sirius let out a hiss as he rubbed the spot Tonks had kicked him. "I swear, we had nothing to do with his initial disappearance."

"Initial disappearance?" Tonks narrowed her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean? And wipe that smirk off your face Sirius, there is absolutely nothing remotely at all amusing about-"

"I left Godric's Hollow on my own." Harry, unlike Sirius, had the decency to look slightly abashed about the situation, as he took off the invisibility cloak and revealed himself to Tonks. "Sorry about all this..."

Tonks stumbled back into the chair and let out a sigh, "I think I need a drink..."

"Cup of tea? Your mum made us biscuits." Sirius said cheerfully. He pointed at Harry who took out a tin from his bag. "Dobby! You can come out now! Make us a pot of tea, will you?"

Tonks jumped when Dobby appeared, along with a squawking Hedwig perched on his head, and with a wide grin rushed away towards the kitchen. Tonks murmured to herself, "And they have a house elf… with a bloody owl..."

Dobby had returned back with a pot of tea in less than a minute. Tonks munched through three biscuits before taking a good swallow of the scalding tea. "Okay, so I'm going to presume you had a _very_ good reason for tying me up and threatening me with Veritaserum?"

Sirius shifted his legs so they were no longer within kicking distance of Tonks. "We had to make sure we could trust you. We were almost completely sure we could, but just on the off chance that you might turn us in… We couldn't risk it. If it makes you feel any better, we did the same thing to your parents."

It did make her feel slightly better. Tonks raised an eyebrow, "How did they take it?"

"Your dad just laughed it off. Aunt Andromeda..." Sirius shuddered. "...didn't take it too well."

Remus choked on his tea and even Harry snickered. Tonks finally cracked a smile, "I'm not surprised."

Sirius shook his head, "Both times, Remus is also present and why is it that I'm the only one that gets the abuse? I get kicked by you and your mum… Never mind."

She was curious, but she'd ask later. Despite the jokey mood, there was a prevailing tiredness beneath all their smiles. This wasn't a social call and as happy as she was to see them, it wasn't safe for them to stay for too long. Tonks let out a sigh, "So, what do you need?"

"Straight to the point, that's why you're my favourite cousin." Sirius chuckled. "Okay, first of all, I need any information on three bodies that were discovered in the outskirts of the city. One of them might have been identified as Corinne-"

"-Lansquenet." Tonks finished. "Yeah, Muggles found them first but we took over when they started calling it _bizarre_. I was assigned the case because… I live here and well… everyone else is busy with trying to track down Riddle or the Zeugen. Really, it's a bit of a coincidence that three magical killings just turned up on my doorstep."

"Not really a coincidence… I'm the one that brought them here." Sirius grunted.

Tonks dropped the biscuit she was holding (her seventh) and for a moment her hand twitched as if she wanted to go for her wand. "Y..you didn't… _kill_ them, right?"

"Of course not." Sirius snorted indignantly.

Harry cleared his throat, "Erm… I was the one who found h- them. That's why I ran away, I needed to find her."

"That's right. You knew her didn't you? I put in a request for a chance to interview you, but… well, you know..." Tonks murmured with a shrug.

"Anything you can tell us about it? Any leads?" Remus asked. Tonks reached inside her robes then frowned, she turned to Remus with her hand stretched out. Remus looked confused for a moment before blushing, "Right, your wand. Sorry."

"This is what I have so far." she made a complex motion with her wand and a folder appeared out of thin air and dropped to the table. She pushed it towards Sirius. Remus and Harry leaned over to read it. "It honestly isn't much. First of all, I'm sorry to say Harry, she died before she even set foot in Durmstrang. Whoever it was that befriended you there wasn't Corinne Lansquenet."

Harry nodded, they had already suspected this. "Did the other two bodies belong to her parents?"

"Yes. We can't be exactly sure, but we think they were killed a few months earlier than Corinne. Possibly when she was at school. And then when she came home for the summer..." Tonks gave a sympathetic look.

"Her heart was ripped out?" Sirius suddenly said as his eyes rapidly scanned through the parchment. "When I uncovered the body there wasn't a wound there and you can't heal a corpse."

Tonks shuddered, "It wasn't exactly healing, it was just stitching the skin back together. I wouldn't have taken more than a few seconds to do that before she… actually died."

Harry closed his eyes as he felt pain for a girl he had never known. "Why would they do that? Is there… some sort of magical reason to do so?"

"None that I can think of. It's the sort of thing that comes up in ancient history, and I mean _ancient_. Like when people used to use fallen tree branches for wands and scratched pretty pictures inside cave walls instead of writing. Not something civilised witches and wizards do nowadays." Tonks shrugged. "She was the only one to die like that and to be preserved. The parents died from a Killing Curse and were left to rot."

"So… looks like no leads?" Sirius asked in a disappointed voice.

"It might have helped if they were left at the original burial site." Tonks said pointedly.

"Me and Remus went through it with a fine tooth comb. Nothing there." Sirius said. "Just a load of wards to keep both Muggles and magicals away. You'd only be able to get there if you knew what you were looking for."

"I believe you." Tonks grunted. "There is one more thing I haven't written up yet… you know her finger?"

"Her finger?" Harry asked with a frown.

"One of her fingers was cut clean off." Sirius said thoughtfully. "Didn't really know what to make of it, thought it might have been cursed off or something."

Tonks shook her head, "There were no traces of magic on the wound, it was done with a knife, plain and simple. Anyway, there didn't seem to be any immediate leads so I went through some old case files to see if there were any similar crimes. Removing a finger and a heart is quite specific..."

"And?" Sirius asked impatiently.

"Muggles discovered a body while they were blasting each other with explosives. They also called it bizarre, the body was missing three limbs since it was hit with a mortar, but the torso was intact. Only it was missing the heart, just like Corinne's. Can't be too sure about the finger thing, there weren't too many left and no one could be sure if any had been done intentionally." Tonks grimaced at the gruesome details.

"When you said they were 'blasting each other with explosives', just when was this?" Remus asked with a frown.

"Well… almost eighty years ago actually." Tonks scrunched up her face, "I know wizards live long but..."

The two men and the boy opposite her exchanged significant looks. Sirius asked, "Did they ever identify the body?"

"Some wizard named Villivasse, I think. I'm still looking into him. It's hard to find records going that far back, and I actually had to go back a few more years to find out about him." Tonks stretched her arms tiredly. "What I have so far is that he was some vaguely important figure in politics at that time."

"If anyone's going to know about an obscure politician near the nineteenth century, it's going to be _him_." Remus said quietly.

Harry scowled but Remus was probably right. Malfoy had kept his word and last he heard, Ernie and Sue had been reunited with their families and they weren't being harassed by Aurors any more than usual. They had been questioned by an Auror they knew was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but Ernie and Sue could truthfully tell them that they had not seen Harry, since at that time they had no memory of it.

Sirius stood up with his friend and the called for Dobby. "Harry, keep Tonks entertained for a bit, okay?"

"Yes, yes. Go do your super mysterious thing you need to do with the house elf. We'll be fine." Tonks waved dismissively at her cousin. Then she turned to Harry with a slight smile, "You look like you're doing well. Tired, but well."

Harry gave a slight nod, "Feels good to actually get things done, instead of just being locked away at school or something."

"I know what you mean. You feel like the world's burning around you and you can't just stand twiddling your thumbs, waiting for something to happen. Fifteen or fifty, if you feel like that, you'll feel like that." Tonks said sadly, "I'm guessing if I ask you to tell me what the hell is going on, you'll just say 'the less you know the better' or something like that?"

Harry chuckled, "Something like that. I don't know, I just leave it to Sirius and Remus to decide who it's safe to tell…"

Tonks suddenly cocked her head to the side and stared at Harry. Then with a wry grin she reached out for his face with her hand. " _That's_ new. I like it. When did you get it done?"

Harry's face changed colour so dramatically, it was almost as if someone had overturned a bucket of red paint over his head. "I..It's for… you know… so I can help without being tracked..."

"What? Oh. Oh!" Tonks snapped her fingers then pointed them at Harry's ears. "I thought they looked familiar. They were Sirius' weren't they? I forgot for a moment that you still have the Trace on you..."

Harry reached up to touch the cold metal pierced through his ears. They were in the shape of stylised lions, their colours overtly Gryffindor. Harry had balked at the idea when Sirius suggested it, even though he had explained it would be necessary if Harry wanted to do anything other then confine himself in the dingy little flat.

Circumventing the Trace wasn't an easy thing to do. The Magic was old and strong, but also because there was no real reason for anyone to _try_ to get around it. For the students living in magical households there wasn't much point in the Trace, since it was impossible to tell which person was the one that cast the spell. It was left to the parents or guardians to enforce the law. For Muggleborns and Harry, as he unfortunately found at the age of thirteen, the Ministry kept a much closer watch. It wasn't normally that much of a problem though. Hermione always grumbled about not being able to review and practice what they had learned (and would learn soon) during the summer holidays, but she did little more than that. The rest of his Muggleborn friends didn't seem to really mind going a few months without magic.

Sirius Black was not Muggleborn, but his parents were the sort that kept him under scrutiny more fiercely than the Ministry did Muggleborns. They were not happy with his attitude and the fact that he was sorted into Gryffindor or the fact that he was happy about it. They kept him from becoming too happy by enforcing this 'no magic during the holidays' rule as strictly as they could and for a teenager that had grown up in a magical household, it was something that made him pretty miserable.

So one summer, after the Hogwarts Express dropped them off at Platform nine and three quarters, he dropped off his trunk in front of the family house elf and told his mother and his little brother that he was going to his friend's house. He tried not to look to happy about it, his mother wouldn't have let him if it meant he was happy about it, but Sirius needn't have worried. She was doting over his younger brother Regulus, who had just returned from his first year at Hogwarts. So with a simple "Be back before dinner", she didn't give her eldest son a second glance and returned home.

But Sirius Back didn't go with James and the Potters, even though they had invited him like they had done so many times before. He would end up spending more time with them than he did with his own family, but not that day. He wandered out into Muggle London, not looking out of place since he had changed on the train. He went to the Leaky Cauldron, then into Diagon Alley. Then he kept walking and walking, until he reached the darker, grimier and shiver-inducing(-because-it-feels-like-someone-is-watching-you) Nocturne Alley.

He wished James had come with him, and he probably would have done if he had asked, but Mr. and Mrs. Potter would have wanted to know what they were planning and Sirius didn't want to lie to them. It wasn't a pleasant place, it reminded him too much of his 'home', it wasn't the sort of place where a thirteen year old boy should be wandering alone. But it was the only place where he might actually find something that might be able to mask his magic from setting off the Trace.

It didn't come cheap, but he managed to find someone who could make the earrings and in exchange for one of the little trinkets that littered the Black mansion, one that his mother would be searching for until the day she died. He had sneaked a particularly expensive piece into the trunk on the first of September last year, he had been planning this for a long time. Sirius enjoyed his newly acquired ability to use magic whenever and where ever he pleased during that summer. He did so at home and he even cheekily used his magic to have a little fun with a few Muggles, although nothing too conspicuous that might draw the attention of the Ministry.

When he returned to Hogwarts the next year he wore them proudly, smirking at the thought of what he could get up to when the holidays came again. That was until the Headmaster saw them and immediately recognised them for what they were. They were confiscated, only returned after a lot of begging and sworn promises that he would not use magic outside of his home.

Sirius had little use for it once he turned seventeen, only remembering he had them a few weeks ago, when the possibility of Harry having to go on the run came up.

It was something that took Harry a bit of getting used to. Not the getting holes in the earlobe part, that was quick and mostly painless. It wasn't even the part where he felt mortally embarrassed at the fact he had metal lions on his ears. Remus and Sirius had both nodded in satisfaction when they were sure the magic was working, but hadn't really mentioned it since. Mr. and Mrs. Tonks were too busy, well, Mrs. Tonks was too busy cursing boils onto Sirius' backside and Mr. Tonks too busy trying to stop her. Harry was just glad both Ernie and Sue were gone before they could comment on his new accessory.

What did take getting used to was the buzzing noise that surrounded him every single waking moment. It wasn't as if a swarm of flies had suddenly appeared around his head, it sounded as if the flies had crawled inside his ears, laid eggs and then the newly hatched baby flies were whizzing inside his skull. As he spent the first few hours laying in bed with a pounding headache, Sirius assured him that it would get better with time. It had gotten better. Now most of the time there were no headaches, and he only noticed the buzzing when he actually remembered there was supposed to be a buzzing.

"It feels a bit weird..." Harry murmured, willing his blush to go away. He wasn't talking about the buzzing.

"Nah, it looks great!" Tonks gave him a friendly punch to his arm and Harry did feel better. Nymphadora Tonks was possibly the best person to debut his new look to, her own fashion sense was anything but conventional and 'self-conscious' probably wasn't a word in her dictionary.

Harry gave her a slight grin as Sirius and Remus returned with a pleased looking Dobby in tow. "Okay, we have a bit more information on this… Villivasse."

"The most noteworthy thing he did was call on for a tighter watch on the situation with the Muggles." Sirius explained. "He predicted a great war brewing amongst them, one that would even effect the wizarding population. He called for direct action, for the use of magic to prevent this outcome."

"That almost sounds like what Dumbledore is proposing now." Harry said with a frown.

Remus glanced at Tonks, who had a mildly thoughtful expression, and answered the boy, "That's what we were thinking. But there's more. A week after making this controversial speech, he made another one. He had changed him mind completely, saying it was foolish to risk the secret of Magic being leaked out to Muggles. A week after that, he retired from his position and sort of fell off the face of the Earth."

"Wait. So are you saying the same thing happened to Villivasse as the Lansquenet girl? Someone killed him then stole his shape so that they could… do what exactly?" Tonks scratched her hair with the tip of her wand. "Do you think that's why her body was preserved? Polyjuice Potion won't normally work when you use ingredients from a corpse..."

Sirius nodded, "I was thinking the same thing. It would also explain why so much care was taken to make sure no one found the bodies. It doesn't really explain the heart and the finger though… Would it even be possible to Polyjuice into a heartless corpse? We'll have to ask… someone..."

"Corinne… the person who was imitating her, she wasn't missing a finger though." Harry knew a little about the potion in question and that didn't really make sense.

"Combining Polyjuice with Transfiguration?" Remus suggested. "We'll have to send the question to Professor McGonagall, between her and Snape I'm sure they'll be able to answer it."

Sirius grunted in displeasure, probably more at the fact that Snape would have to be consulted than McGonagall. "I suppose we have no choice..."

Remus turned to Tonks. "Can you keep in touch with anything else you find in your investigations?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll do that, and you three need to get going." Tonks stood and glanced about uneasily. "You have somewhere safe to go, right?"

"We do. You don't need to worry about that." Sirius stood up slowly. "There is something else we need to ask you to do..."

"What is it?" Tonks asked warily. Both Remus and Harry had tensed as well.

"You have access to all the old records from before the European Ministry was formed, right?" Tonks nodded at Sirius' question. "Is it possible for you to find out where Dumbledore went after he escaped Britain with his sister and… Grindelwald."

Tonks licked her lips nervously, "They had people look into it and found nothing that suggested Dumbledore was doing anything illegal other than escaping with his sister. Dumbledore said that once he returned to Britain, and without the King of Crows, he had no further contact with him. As far as I know there was nothing that suggested otherwise."

"Can you have look, with your own eyes?" Sirius stared intently.

"Sirius, what's going on? What does this have to do with the Corinne girl's murder?" Tonks asked in a whisper.

"The less you know, the better." Sirius said apologetically.

Tonks gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head, "It won't be easy to get to those records..."

"I know you can be resourceful." Sirius said with a grin.

Remus hastily added, "But don't do anything too rash. We don't want the attention, but you'll be in far more danger if certain people find out what you are doing."

Tonks nodded resolutely, "You owe me an explanation later."

Sirius smiled, "Of course. We'll find a way to contact you soon. For now, why don't you put your feet up and enjoy a nice house elf cooked meal?"

Harry only then noticed that Dobby had been busy, as he heard the noises of clattering pots and pans from the kitchen. Tonks grinned, "I'll do just that. Thank you- what's his name? Thank you Dobby!"


	51. Year 5 - Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **Fairy Tales and Spanish Trails**

"Tom Riddle has been sighted in America." Lucius Malfoy stated instead of a greeting as he entered the room.

"What's he doing there?" Harry asked, despite thinking five seconds ago that he would let the others do the talking. But hearing news of Professor Riddle, hearing he was so far away made Harry open his mouth without thinking. Harry didn't think the Professor would make his way to the other side of the world to escape from Dumbledore. And he definitely wouldn't have just given up, abandoning everyone else while hiding himself in safety.

Malfoy gave him a condescending look that made Harry scowl. He definitely should have kept him mouth shut. "Mr. Potter, why do you expect me to know any more of Tom Riddle's plans than you do?"

"He didn't have time to explain anything to us, we already discussed this Malfoy. Where was he sighted?" Remus asked sharply, cutting off a hostile retort from the fifteen year old boy.

"New York. This was two weeks ago. The place was swarmed with Aurors but he was gone by the time they arrived." Malfoy said.

"New York?" Sirius said in surprise. "Getting into the States is bad enough, how in Merlin's name did he manage to get into New York?"

"He is a resourceful man." Remus said mildly. "Malfoy, are you sure you have no further information on what he was doing there?"

"Unfortunately, my people aren't as resourceful as Riddle." Lucius said with a rare respect in his voice for the Headmaster.

"There's nothing we can do. He knows what he's doing and if he needs our help he will find a way to contact us. We have our own leads to follow." Sirius grunted. "Malfoy, you said you found something? Was that it?"

"No. Since you told me you were looking into this killer within our world, I chose to look the other way. The Muggle side. Given Albus Dumbledore's preoccupation with their kind these days, I thought it worth looking into." Malfoy said, sounding very much pleased with himself.

"Well? What did you find?" Sirius snapped.

Malfoy gave him a cool look and stayed silent for almost a minute. Harry was sure it was just so he could annoy Sirius. "Since the first murder we know of, which was Villivasse, happened in Eastern Europe, that is where I decided to start."

Lucius Malfoy paused again and Remus quickly gripped Sirius by the arm as the ex-Auror growled with impatience. The werewolf was scowling at Malfoy, but he managed to keep his voice even, "I thought we agreed not to antagonise each other? Did you find any killings that seem similar to the ones we have?"

"No. And I was not expecting to. If a Muggle discovered an intact body with a missing heart, our kind would have quickly been dispatched to take over. Muggles aren't really know for their discretion when they find such… strangeness." Malfoy gave a little shrug and Sirius took in a deep calming breath to stop himself from attacking the man over the table. "I had to look for something more subtle, such as suspicious disappearances. There are a surprisingly large number of these. Even though I was looking at decades worth of information spanning a whole continent, there was far more than I was expecting."

"This is a waste of time..." Sirius muttered and stood up. He stomped to the kitchen and started making a pot of tea. Dobby had left the building when he was told Lucius Malfoy would be visiting, deciding that Hedwig needed looking after while she stretched her wings.

"I could ignore most of it, the disappearance of unimportant people, children and the like." Malfoy waved dismissively and Harry felt another surge of dislike for the man, but he kept his silence. "I looked closely at people and groups who could influence the populace and I found something interesting."

Harry frowned, "Like politicians? Are you saying Dumbledore's already enacting his plan to send spies into the Muggles?"

"I think he has already been working towards this for a very long time. Although there were a few interesting occurrences in Eastern Europe, it was only when I turned my attention further west that I found something solid." Malfoy reached inside his robes and pulled out a piece of paper. He slid it over the table towards Harry and Remus. It was a photograph. "This was taken almost ten years ago."

Harry stared at the grainy photograph. It showed a bunch of old men in suits shaking hands with self congratulatory smiles on their faces. He squinted at each in turn but he recognised none of them. Remus, however, made a sharp intake of breath. "That's Pettigrew..."

"What?" Sirius roared from the kitchen. Even though he had walked away from the table, in this small room it was impossible not to hear what the others were saying. He ran back and leaned over behind Harry to scrutinise the photo. "Where?"

Remus pointed to a figure in the background. Away from all the self important men in the front of the photo, with his face half turned away from the shot was a short man dressed in Muggle attire. Harry peered closely but he honestly couldn't tell if it was him. The photograph wasn't the best quality and to be honest, he didn't have a clear picture in his mind of what the man, who had almost tried to kill him two years ago in the dark forest, looked like.

Sirius, who Harry knew had spent a lot of time trying to track this person down, didn't have the same problem. He growled, "That _is_ Peter Pettigrew. What in Morgana's name is he doing with Muggles?"

"What is this? Where was this taken?" Remus asked sharply.

"Italy. Most of these men are people from their branch of government concerned with environmental issues. This photo was taken when they reached an agreement concerning some sort of new construction project. I have not been able to get much more details other than that." Malfoy replied. He wasn't baiting Sirius any longer, his expression was grim.

"Are you sure that's him? Are you saying that-" Harry suddenly felt an urge to be sick. "H..he's the one disguising himself as… other people?"

Sirius and Remus both realised the implications of that and looked horrified. Malfoy quickly shook his head, "No. At least, I do not believe so. I found him by coincidence. _This_ is the man I was looking into. A few weeks after the photograph was taken, he retired from his position due to 'complications with his health'. Went to live in the countryside because he needed clean air or something like that. He was basically forgotten until a few years ago, when his name came up during some… anti-corruption investigations of some sort. They went to arrest him, but couldn't find him. The Muggle authorities think he has either fled to another country or committed suicide, but..."

"It sounds suspiciously like what happened to Villivasse." Sirius said quietly. He sat down, his irritation with Malfoy completely forgotten. He tapped the decade old photo with his finger, "I suppose it's too much to expect you to know where Pettigrew is now?

Malfoy made a dissatisfied noise, annoyed more at himself than Sirius. "Not at the moment. I am having it looked into. Right now we don't even know what Pettigrew was doing there, I know for a fact he wasn't working for the Muggle government."

"Other than Pettigrew, is there anything that suggests wizarding involvement in Muggle affairs?" Remus asked. "Proof that Dumbledore acted against wizarding law?"

"Nothing conclusive obviously. Nothing we can use to bring him down." Malfoy said irritably.

"Is that all you have?" Sirius asked. It was a genuine question and not a sarcastic remark on the fact that they still had no information they could act upon. Malfoy regarded him for a moment before nodding. Sirius stood, "Come on Harry, back to the roof."

Harry stood to follow him, but Remus stopped him, "Professor McGonagall wants him to go through all the subjects he needs for his O.W.L.s, not just practice duelling."

Harry let out a groan. Professor McGonagall had managed to get him copies of all his textbooks and somehow she expected Remus and Sirius to teach him what highly qualified professors at Hogwarts were meant to teach. Both Sirius and Harry were less than enthusiastic with this suggestion from the temporary Headmistress and preferred to carry on with the Auror training they had started last year.

"In a bit, Remus. I'll have a look through the books later." Harry had a pleading look in his eyes.

"Fine." Remus sighed. He had been through the books several times already, knowing he would need to brush up on the fifth year material if he wanted to teach Harry. It had been years since Remus had even _thought_ of some of these spells. So he reached for the pile of textbooks at the edge of the table and picked one at random, looked at the cover and bit back another tired sigh.

"There is one more thing." everyone stopped and turned back to Malfoy, who had remained seated. "From tomorrow morning, you two will officially be charged in connection to Potter's 'kidnapping'. You two and the bru- former Professor Hagrid."

Sirius scowled but decided to overlook the unsaid comment about Hagrid. "Nothing we haven't been expecting. They would need to be seen as making an effort to find Harry. We disappeared around the same time as he did, they were bound to think there might be a connection. We'll need to get a message to Hagrid, tell him to keep low. Is McGonagall under any suspicion?"

"Obviously. She was brought in for questioning several times in the past week. She still has her job for now, but I believe the Ministry are planning to send someone to Hogwarts so they can keep a close eye on her." Malfoy said without much emotion. "They will undoubtedly begin monitoring all communications even more thoroughly than they had been doing so before. I would think twice about contacting her, only do so if it is vitally important. Potter's O.W.L.s, are _not_."

The three of them glared at him silently until he left the room.

* * *

The roof was filthy and the wind somehow managed to dredge up the nastier scents from the four corners of the city, carrying them to this single spot on top of the grubby building. When the inhabitants of this tired little flat suddenly felt an urge to gaze upon the city from high above (but not too high, it wasn't that tall of a building), they would be strongly reminded of that fact and couldn't for the life of them remember if they had inadvertently left the contents of their stomachs behind the last time they visited. Of course they hadn't actually ever left anything there, no Muggle had set foot on the roof since Tom Riddle took over a whole floor of the building quite some time ago.

It wasn't as bad as the magically induced thoughts going through the Muggles' minds made it out to be, but it wasn't entirely pleasant either, making it very uncomfortable and difficult to concentrate on duelling. That was exactly why Sirius insisted on training Harry here rather than Apparating to a nice grassy field somewhere. Harry soon became used to the sensation of constantly having a Bubble-Head charm over his head, as long as he remembered to avoid eating that one dish Dobby sometimes made, which was heavily flavoured with garlic and something else pungent he had never tasted before.

So for hours each day he came up here, sometimes by himself but mostly with either Sirius or Remus, and then came back down sweaty, aching and, more often than not, nursing a few minor injuries. But Harry was happy. They spent a lot of time waiting for news from those who could move about more openly, which wasn't a change from before, but Harry wasn't just sitting still, twiddling his thumbs and learning about Goblin Rebellions, or how to change the colour of an animal or practice brewing a potion that he was unlikely to ever have a use for, once he finished his O.W.L.s. He was learning how to fight and defend himself and others.

They could all feel it. Things were moving faster and faster, events set in motion a long time ago, long before even Peter Pettigrew set foot in Italy. Neither of the adults wanted Harry to have to learn how to fight when he was still so young, but they knew it was necessary and so they taught him all that they could.

Today, Harry was being barraged with numerous little hexes that he was meant to block or dodge without retaliating back. Each spell did little more than cause a slight stinging sensation, barely more painful than when Hedwig nipped him with her beak, but the sheer number made his arm, which he was using the shield his face from time to time, feel completely numb.

"S..stop." Harry raised his arms in surrender and lay down on the floor breathing heavily. They had been going for about half an hour, with the only rest being when Sirius sent slightly fewer hexes so Harry could concentrate on a Shield Charm rather than jumping this way and that.

"Here you go." Remus came over with a glass of water. He had brought up one of Harry's textbooks to read through, but had in fact spent most of the time just watching Harry, cheering him on under his breath.

"Thanks Remus." Harry sat up and drained the liquid down before raising the glass for more. Remus filled it up twice more using his wand.

"That was good Harry." Sirius came over and clapped him in the back, making Harry choke mid gulp.

"I was hit with about half of the spells you sent towards me." Harry coughed. "It's not good enough."

"Half is plenty good. You're not meant to stop every attack, it's meant to improve your reactions and your stamina. Even after the twenty minute mark, you kept going without slowing down much." Sirius genuinely looked proud.

Harry gave a pleased grin before lying back onto the hard surface. He absently rubbed his forearm, trying to get some feeling back, as he asked, "Do you think Grindelwald is actually… you know… still out there somewhere?"

Remus and Sirius both considered the question. "What do you mean?"

"Professor Riddle always said he wasn't completely gone, but now we know Dumbledore and Grindelwald had been allies..." Harry frowned as he tried to get his thoughts in order. Grindelwald was dead, or at least he had supposedly died enough to leave a corpse when he tried to kill Harry. The fact that Dumbledore was still around while the King of Crows was not seemed… strange somehow. "I don't know what I'm trying to say really..."

"You think Riddle might have been saying that Grindelwald would be back just so he could keep us on our toes, knowing that Dumbledore was still around?" Sirius suggested slowly.

Harry sat up and made a motion with his head that was half a nod and half a shrug. "Maybe..."

"I don't think so..." Remus said quietly. "I remember him speaking of Grindelwald before, he was definitely looking into specific ways one could use dark magic to cheat death. I know he had to keep Dumbledore's involvement a secret for the safety of everyone involved, but… I don't know, his determination to find out if it was possible seemed genuine enough."

"He didn't happen to mention what any of these methods were, did he?" Harry wondered aloud, not really expecting them to tell him.

"We wouldn't tell you, even if we knew." Sirius said predictably. "It's not something a fifteen year old should know, not something anyone should really."

"So do you think that's what Dumbledore is ultimately planning? To bring his ally back to life?" Harry somehow didn't feel happy with this explanation.

"I see where you're going with this… you're thinking why bother putting themselves in a situation where they have to potentially try and break a fundamental law of magic and nature." Remus nodded in understanding. "Dumbledore is still alive and Grindelwald would be as well if he hadn't..."

"Killed my parents and tried to kill me..." Harry closed his eyes so he wouldn't see their expressions. He took in a deep breath and asked, "Why do you think he went after my family?"

Harry opened his eyes and saw the pained look on Sirius and Remus as they were reminded of the passing of their two very close friends. When Sirius spoke his voice was slightly hoarse, "I always thought… I always thought that it was because James was in the Order. I guess it doesn't really make sense now..."

"No. Plenty of Order members were attacked and killed." Remus said. "Prewett, McKinnon, Longbottom, Meadowes… and more than a handful of Witnesses were captured or killed as well. It's like Dumbledore and Grindelwald see their followers as pieces on a chessboard… making them all fight each other without them knowing they're on the same side..."

"So… what? You think James and Lily were killed just so Dumbledore could keep up his ruse to convince the world that he was really fighting against Grindelwald?" Sirius grit his teeth at the idea.

"I think there's more to it than that." it was Harry that spoke and the other two turned to him in surprise. "D..did… Professor Riddle… ever tell you about… the nightmares I used to have when I was… a lot younger. I remembered it in my first year at Hogwarts… in the Chamber of Secrets…"

Two sets of eyes widened. "No. He didn't mention anything like that."

"I remember… I think I remembered the day my parents were killed." Harry said in a rush.

" _What?_ " Sirius moaned in horror. Remus looked lost for words. "Harry I… I don't- Merlin..."

Harry shook his head and raised a hand to stop him. "I remember… someone talking… They mentioned my dad's cloak, I think, and the Philosopher's stone..."

"The Philosopher's stone? It makes sense..." Sirius muttered darkly. "It's a very powerful object and getting their hands on it would have..."

"My mum or dad didn't have any brothers, right?" Harry asked, suddenly remembering one more thing from his almost forgotten nightmares.

"No. Lily had a sister, as you already know. James was an only child." Remus said looking slightly confused at the sudden change of topic. "Why do you ask?"

"That's the other thing I remember. They were talking about someone's brother… no three brothers." Harry said with his face scrunched in concentration. "Three brothers, the cloak and the Philosopher's Stone..."

Harry looked at the two hopefully, but Sirius shook his head, the words not meaning much to him. Remus on the other hand opened his mouth to say something then closed it again. He scratched his head and said, "No… But… They couldn't possibly think..."

"What is it Remus?" Harry asked.

"Three brothers? Tale of the Three Brothers?" Remus said and Harry stared back at him blankly.

Sirius made a face, "What does a children's story have-"

"Three brothers? A cloak and a stone? Along with a wand, the three gives one power over death?" Remus said.

"Yes… yes I suppose so… but… it's a story." Sirius said uncertainly. "Grindelwald and Dumbledore are both insane, but it takes a special level of insanity if they actually believe..."

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Harry said with undisguised impatience. They turned to him apologetically before telling him the Tale of the Three Brothers. Harry listened with an intense concentration, much more so than anyone hearing the story for the first time would ever have done, mostly because anyone hearing this story for the first time would have had an average age of six. He remained silent, but his expression grew more and more sceptical. When they finished the tale, the only thing Harry could think to say was, "Death's got an invisibility cloak?"

Sirius snorted, "It's a _story,_ Harry, a fairy tale. It's something you tell children to teach them humility, wisdom and… you know… that everyone dies in the end."

"I'm not saying it's real or actually possible to use it to bring someone back to life, but it's possible that it's what Dumbledore and Grindelwald were trying to pursue." Remus pointed at the stairs leading down, "It would make sense why they were attacked in Godric's Hollow that day, especially with everything else that was going on. James' cloak, according to him, has been in his family for ages. And the Philosopher's Stone, a lot of people think that it was the inspiration behind the Resurrection Stone."

"Wait..." Harry realised he had mixed something up. "They never actually mentioned the stone by name. I think I was confused because of what happened during that year."

"And surely the Philosopher's Stone can't actually bring someone back to life..." Sirius pointed out. "The one that was guarded at Hogwarts that year has been around for centuries… if it could actually do that I'm sure someone-"

Remus' eyes suddenly widened and he turned and sprinted across the rooftop and down the stairs. Sirius helped Harry to his feet and they both followed him, calling his name, but he just told them to hurry up and follow. They went down the stairs, passing by an old man who lived in a flat near the top of the building, one who Tonks would have recognised instantly and had felt another desire to hex Sirius for. He saw where they were coming from and immediately went a little green.

Once they were back in the flat, Remus was standing by the table his eyes scanning something he had on top of it.

"Look!" the werewolf said excitedly, jabbing his finger down at something, "It says it here, in the letter, ' _All I know is that he came to our house and killed my family for a ring._ ' A ring! That must be why the Gaunts were attacked!"

"You think there was a stone set in the ring, and that it was the Resurrection Stone?" Harry asked, the werewolf's surety slowly spreading to him as well. In his mind, everything was clicking into place. "It makes sense…"

When the two beaming faces turned to Sirius he winced, "But… it's not _real_. Take the cloak for example, it's… just an invisibility cloak, it doesn't ward off death… And if it was so important, why return it to Harry anyway? I could easily think of a dozen ways he could have been sent to Privet Drive, the most difficult part's the Portkey, and that was already given to him. With that it's simply-"

Sirius froze and Harry asked anxiously, "What? What is it?"

"If Dumbledore knew you had the invisibility cloak, or _the_ Cloak of Invisibility as you think it is, why didn't he take it from you the moment you stepped foot in his house?" Sirius asked.

"I..I don't know." Harry admitted. "Maybe he thought he had more time, he didn't think I would run away. Or maybe… he couldn't admit he knew the existence of the cloak without revealing he knew what it was and how I came across it. I'd kept it hidden so if he took it from me, it would basically be admitting that he knew Corinne-"

"What?" Sirius asked this time.

"The spell on the container I was keeping it in! I never had any trouble revealing the cloak to my friends, you said it was because the spell was probably geared towards hiding it from fully trained wizards and witches. And all the time I've had it, any time I'd even remotely think of telling an adult about it, even people like you two that I know I could trust, I always managed to come up with a reason to keep it a secret." Harry was speaking quickly, with a look of great concentration on his face. "But I remember something completely opposite happening once. The day Dumbledore came to Hogwarts to take me to Godric's Hollow… _That_ day, I had to try really hard not to reveal that cloak in front of everyone. In front of Dumbledore, I felt an incredible desire to just pull it over my head and make a run for it. I thought it was just a mad thought that popped up in that moment of stress but..."

"So he was just waiting for you to reveal it to him. Then he could come up with some sort of reason to borrow it..." Remus said thoughtfully. "And he was patient. Even if he took the Cloak, and he already has his hands on the Stone, he still needs to get his hands on the Wand..."

"Then we need to find it before he does." Harry said firmly.

Sirius opened his mouth then closed it again, shaking his head. He sighed, "And how exactly do we go about looking for a wand that appears in a fairy tale?"

At that Harry deflated slightly. Remus snapped at his friend, "For the last time, I'm not saying I completely believe everything in the story, but it's too much of a coincidence to ignore. I'm sure there is something in there that Dumbledore is pursing. It's another clue and right now we barely have much else to go on."

Sirius look far from convinced, but didn't argue. "Alright, we'll keep an eye open for anything, but if Riddle knows this, I'm sure he would have already looked into it..."

"Maybe not. He's had a Muggle upbringing, he might not be familiar with our stories for children." Remus countered.

"At the very least he would have discussed it with McGonagall." Sirius insisted. "She would have known about it."

Remus thought for a moment, "Somehow, I think she would be less open to the idea that Dumbledore and Grindelwald's ultimate goal revolves around a fairy tale, than you are Sirius."

* * *

Although Malfoy had warned them about the tighter security measures, they thought, at least Harry and Remus did, an insight into Dumbledore's goal might be worth discussing with McGonagall. Sirius had attempted to scout Hogwarts and the nearby village in order to get an idea of the changes, but even in a disguise the moment he stepped foot in Hogsmeade, he had his former colleagues converge towards the spot he had Apparated into and he had to quickly Disapparate out of there.

After giving it some thought they decided that sending Dobby to her might be the surest way to get in touch with her. He would pass along one of the mirrors that each of the three people in the flat had in their possession, which none of them had the forethought to leave with the temporary Headmistress. There were plenty of house elves within the castle and more often than not, the poor creatures were overlooked. Harry was still worried about Dobby, but the insistent house elf was eager to prove himself useful and even when warned several times that it might be dangerous, he wouldn't be dissuaded from taking on the mission.

Unfortunately they never discovered if Professors Riddle and McGonagall ever discussed fairy tales. Dobby returned back to the flat almost a full day later, looking absolutely battered and with blotchy eyes that looked like he'd been crying for several hours. Whoever had tightened the security had unfortunately considered house elves and Dobby was unable to pass through the wards of the school. He hadn't just given up, however, and tried everything he could think of to reach McGonagall, not caring how it harmed him and only turned to escape when his efforts had alerted Aurors. After that he tried again twice more, before finally giving up and returning back to them.

Harry was horrified and asked Dobby why he didn't stop when the wards physically started to retaliate against the house elf trying to gain entrance, and he replied with a barely intelligible wail, "D..Dobby… go..oo..od el..elf! P..pl..ee..eee..ease… H..H..H..Harr..y..y.. P..P..ott-"

Harry stopped the elf from saying anything more and watched Remus as he tried to help Dobby with his injuries. He also made a silent vow never to laugh or groan when Hermione made another remark about elfish welfare.

And with this new mindset, Harry set aside some time each day to look after the injured elf. Dobby really didn't need much help, after vanishing for a further day of apparent slumber, he came back still looking horribly injured but went about cleaning the already spotless flat and cooking up meals for the three wizards. Despite their trying, nothing could stop Dobby from doing 'what a house elfs must do' but Harry and the others tried their best to clean after themselves, which meant Harry almost acting like he was back at Four Privet Drive.

He kept telling himself it was for Dobby's sake, even though the house elf was horrified whenever Harry tried to lift a finger. Remus and Sirius were out of the house often gathering information. Instances such as when they paid Tonks a visit were rare. It wasn't so much that it was dangerous for Harry to come along with one or the other (they acted separately most of the time), it was that mostly the fact finding missions were pretty tedious.

Harry had come along once, under the cloak with Dobby in case they needed to make a quick getaway, and shadowed Sirius as he did his work. He probed wizards, witches and even a few Muggles for information, although he had to be discreet with his questioning and the conversation often meandered all over the place before finally getting to the matter he really wanted to know about. It took even longer with the few who didn't speak English all that well.

It was nearing the end of February when their perseverance finally paid off. Following information supplied by Lucius Malfoy, they finally caught wind of Pettigrew's whereabouts.

"Found him. Mirror now." a silvery wolf like dog whispered in Sirius Black's voice. Harry had seen this spell used quite a few times now and had discovered that it was called the Patronus Charm. After learning what the spell was primarily used for, Harry asked them to teach it to him, even after being told that it was a difficult spell for even fully qualified wizards. Harry had shrugged, saying he had a lot of time on his hands and even futile attempts to learn the Charm would be better than opening his History of Magic textbook. He practised the spell whenever he could, in fact he was practising it right at the moment.

Harry looked around and realised that he had forgotten to bring the mirror up to the roof with him. Remus and Sirius had both left early in the morning, they had been doing so for the last week when Lucius sent information that Pettigrew might be in the city of Seville in Spain. Harry rushed downstairs and went to his bed, which had been transfigured from one of the chairs and pushed to the corner of the room, and reached for his bag. He opened it and was about to grab the mirror before stopping.

"Dobby!" Harry called.

"Yes Harry Potter, sirs!" Dobby appeared with a pop, holding a chicken. A dead, plucked one, not a live one thankfully. Despite being interrupted while procuring food, he was grinning widely, eager to be of service.

"Sirius sent a message. Can you take me to him?" Harry asked while he secured the invisibility cloak over his head.

Dobby nodded furiously and levitated tonight's dinner over to the kitchen before rushing over and gripping Harry's hand. He remembered to close his eyes just before they Disapparated.

He opened his eyes to the drone of a bustling city at lunchtime. Harry immediately backed up a step, pressing himself against a wall as he took stock of his surroundings. He had half expected to turn up in some dingy back alley, empty save for a few suspicious characters, Pettigrew amongst them. What he didn't expect was a bright and spotless plaza, packed full of people, including what looked to be several troops of Muggle tourists wielding cameras in all directions.

Dobby wasn't able to Apparate directly to Sirius, but rather he could keep track of the mirrors that the three of them used to communicate. Harry knew Sirius would be close, but Dobby had to Apparate some distance away from his current location. There was always a danger of appearing in the middle of a trap or a firefight, so Sirius and Remus had both stressed the importance of taking this precaution to both Harry and Dobby.

He studied everyone nearby, but only for a moment. Sirius would already have transfigured his face and clothes several times over by now, as to not attract too much attention as he searched the city. So instead Harry took out the mirror and whispered the wizard's name. When Sirius' disguised face flashed onto the glassy surface, Harry took note of his features before turning once more to the crowds in front of him. With a wry grin, Harry silently crept towards a middle aged man wearing an ill fitting brown suit, who was sipping on a cup of coffee outside a little cafe, seemingly unaware of the slight chill in the air.

As Harry neared him without answering his call, Sirius grew more agitated as he tried to casually glance at the mirror he had between the pages of a book he was holding. When Harry shoved the mirror back into the pocket, the ex-Auror made a noise of frustration.

"Where is he?" Harry hissed, causing Sirius to almost knock over the coffee.

Sirius gave the air besides him a murderous look, just managing to quell his desire to start shouting and appearing like a mad man. Instead he asked curtly, "Where's Remus?"

Harry shrugged before he realised Sirius couldn't see him. "Not back yet. He isn't answering your call?"

Sirius lifted the book so that it covered his face, "No."

Sirius didn't look that worried, and Harry wasn't either. It probably just meant that Remus was talking to someone who would find it strange if he suddenly took out and started speaking into a mirror. A Muggle probably. "So? Pettigrew? Where is he?"

Sirius grunted as he tapped the top of his book with his index finger. Harry's eyes followed to where he was pointing at. It looked to be a little market stall, amongst many, that was selling something edible Harry couldn't identify from this distance. Pettigrew was there, leisurely perusing the goods. "I have no idea what he's up to. As far as I can tell, he's just sniffing about, looking for something to eat."

"Should I go over there and-"

"No." Sirius said sharply as he snapped the book shut and placed it into his pocket. He picked up his drink, lifted it over his mouth and quietly said, "We wait."

Sirius kicked out a chair and made a show of raising his legs onto it, before shuffling about looking exaggeratedly uncomfortable and placing them back onto the ground. Harry murmured a thanks and sat down, with Dobby on his lap. "How did you find him?"

"Luck mostly." Sirius let out a quiet laugh, "I was going to get a bus to another part of the city and he just gets off as I'm about to get on. Followed him here on foot."

"So, what's the plan?" Harry felt a nervous apprehension.

"As much as I'd like to nab him right this minute, the more we can find out what he's up to here, the better. If he's moving about using Muggle transport, we'll be able to follow him." Sirius shifted in his seat. "Dobby, can you find Remus for us? Tell him he needs to get here as soon as possible. Dobby?"

"He's already gone." Harry muttered. The house elf had merely nodded and vanished the moment Sirius had finished speaking. Sirius grunted in acknowledgement and they stayed quiet as the watched Pettigrew. The short wizard finally seemed to have come to a decision and handed over a wad of money to a Muggle trader, who took a large bottle and placed it in a paper bag before handing it over. With that Pettigrew turned and purposefully started striding away. Harry stood up, "He's moving..."

Sirius stood up casually and stretched his arms, but his narrowed eyes never left Pettigrew. He started walking, with Harry only a step behind him. Sirius lowered his voice, his tone as serious as Harry had ever heard, "Stay behind me and do not, under any circumstance, put yourself in any danger. You listen to every single thing I say, if I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to hide, you hide. I mean it Harry, or I swear you won't leave the flat until your next birthday..."

"Fine." Harry huffed, feeling slightly irritated but deciding this wasn't a time to argue.

They walked and walked for almost half an hour, with Sirius ducking into a side alley to change his appearance and clothes now and again. Pettigrew seemed to be ambling along aimlessly, like he didn't have a specific destination in mind, but he did seem to be looking for something. Soon after leaving the plaza, the wizard they were stalking had led them to areas of the city, more in line with what Harry had earlier expected. There were no tourists here, and hardly any residents of the city were out in the open either, so Sirius had pulled them back slightly in fear of Pettigrew noticing he was being followed. The streets were narrow and filthy, and each step they took made Harry's shoulder tense more and more. He had already taken out his wand and was gripping it tightly, which is why he almost shot off a spell when he heard a noise from Sirius' coat.

Sirius wordlessly handed over the mirror from his pocket to Harry. He pulled it under the invisibility cloak and smiled, "Remus. Finally."

"Tell him not to Apparate here directly." Sirius muttered under his breath. "Pettigrew will definitely notice."

Harry relayed the information and Remus nodded, "Where then?"

Harry was about to say something when Sirius suddenly raised his arm to stop Harry, then he pulled him around a corner. Sirius took the mirror back and quietly muttered directions to his friend. Harry took this moment to lean out and see why Sirius had stopped, while keeping a hand on Sirius' arm to reassure him that he wasn't wandering off. Harry took in a sharp breath and took a step back.

"What is it?" Sirius asked. He crouched on the ground and used the mirror, which was now just a reflective surface, to try and see what Pettigrew was doing without leaning out himself.

"It's Ga-" Harry stopped. He was about to say 'Gaunt'. The enigmatic figure he had encountered but never seen during his third year. "It's the man who killed Draco's mother..."

Harry had described the man in detail to Sirius, Remus and even Lucius Malfoy, but no one seemed to know anything about him, much to the Malfoys' frustration. There wasn't anything that suggested he had been the one with Pettigrew and Greyback in the Forbidden Forest, but 'gaunt' seemed an apt description of him. Neither Sirius nor Remus were convinced, but seeing him here again with Pettigrew seemed to corroborate Harry's theory.

Just like in the alley next to the Leaky Cauldron, the man had been crouched in an unassuming greasy black lump on the ground, but when Pettigrew approached, he raised his head towards the new arrival. Harry could just about hear that they were speaking to each other, but couldn't make out a single word. Then Pettigrew handed over the bottle he had purchased earlier. It was snatched out of his hand, opened and then promptly drained greedily by the wizard still seated on the ground. He threw it aside, smashing it against a wall before raising himself on to his feet, swaying more than slightly as he did so.

"Sirius, we need to do something." Harry whispered as he watched the two men start walking away. He had a similar feeling to when he saw the ragged man in Diagon Alley. Whatever they were planning, Harry was sure it wasn't going to be a casual sightseeing tour of the city.

Sirius made a fierce scowl. They had followed Pettigrew here hoping he would lead them to some Muggle establishment and reveal what Dumbledore's plan with the Muggles were, but it seemed unlikely now that he was travelling with the unidentified wizard, who would stand out like a flare amongst the non-magic population. As the two turned around a corner, Sirius and Harry hurried to follow them. "Remus will be here soon, and then-"

There was a crash followed by sounds of screaming. Harry didn't hesitate before rushing forwards, wand raised and his cloak fluttering to reveal his legs to anyone who might be looking in his direction. But Sirius didn't bother cautioning him, he was three steps ahead of Harry and moving even faster.

When they turned into the alley Pettigrew and his friend had gone down, they saw a door torn open and hanging on its hinges. Before either of them could move towards it, a figure emerged from the entrance. The ragged old wizard stepped out, holding a struggling and squirming child in his arms.

Pettigrew stepped out behind him and saw Sirius, although he didn't recognise his old dorm mate under disguise. He said to his friend, "Go. I'll deal with this one..."

The other wizard looked disgruntled, his manic eyes clearly itching for a fight, but then his eyes lowered to the child and he licked his lips, "Make it quick."

As the man and the child Disapparated before their eyes, Sirius roared in fury and launched himself forwards. When Pettigrew noticed the wand Sirius was holding, his eyes widened a fraction in surprise, he had clearly been expecting a Muggle, but quickly incanted a counter curse to the one Sirius had hurled at him.

Harry thought quickly. Pettigrew hadn't noticed the invisible boy and it would have been easy for him to get around him and stun him into unconsciousness, but Harry was thinking about the child that had been taken. Harry raised his voice slightly, hoping that Sirius would hear him over the sound of duelling, but Pettigrew wouldn't, "Try to keep him from moving too much. Give me fifteen seconds, then let him get away."

Sirius didn't give any indication as to whether he had heard Harry or not, but he had to go forwards with his plan. Harry kept his head down and moved as quickly as he dared towards Pettigrew. As he did so, he made a fist with his hands and punched himself in the side until he heard the quiet noise of cracking glass.

When he shoved his hand into the pocket of his jacket, he felt a sharp sting, but didn't didn't pull out straight away. Harry slowly lifted out the biggest shard of broken mirror that he could feel as he stepped behind Pettigrew, and as carefully as he could, dropped it into one of the man's coat pockets. He quickly took several steps back and with Pettigrew's back towards him, Harry raised his arm out from under the cloak and gave a thumbs up signal that Sirius would hopefully see.

Pettigrew gave a savage snarl and hurled a jet of yellow light towards Sirius. The ex-Auror's hand faltered, making the invisible shield appear a second too late and threw him onto his back. Pettigrew gave a sneer of triumph and stepped forwards, with his wand trained on Sirius' fallen form.

"Hey! What's going on!" it was Remus. Harry couldn't see him, but could tell by the sound of his voice that he was seconds away. Pettigrew must have thought the same thing, because he gave a grunt of irritation before Disapparating away.

When Remus reached them, Harry was helping Sirius up to his feet. The werewolf looked shocked and started waving his wand over Sirius' chest, which was started to stain red over his clothes. Sirius quickly pushed him away, "I'm fine. Harry, tell me you did what I think you did."

Harry nodded, "Dobby, can you track my mirror?"

Dobby's closed his wide and frightened eyes for a second, then he said, "Yes Harry Potter, it is… mostly here and… somewhere else as well..."

"You can take us there? Good." Sirius said with relief. "We need to move quickly, before Pettigrew realises we can track him. Harry, Dobby, you two get back, contact Malfoy and tell him we might need some backup. Remus and I will see if anyone needs help in there. We'll be back as soon as we can."

Remus looked like he wanted to ask a dozen questions, but remained silent as he followed Sirius through the smashed doorway. Harry crouched down and put his hand over the house elf. Dobby startled, then remembered what he needed to do. They were gone in a blink of an eye.


	52. Year 5 - Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **Questions and Answers**

"Why aren't you at Hogwarts?" Harry tried to act conversationally towards the boy standing besides him. Draco Malfoy currently had his arms crossed and was scowling in the direction of his father and Remus. They were leaning over the table, speaking to Sirius through the mirror. The former Auror had gone ahead with Dobby to scout out what they were about to face.

About an hour earlier, Harry had been pacing the room in a state of agitation and impatience. When the door opened and Harry saw Lucius Malfoy entering the room, much too slowly for Harry's liking, he blurted out the one thing he knew would light the fire under the former Slytherin man's feet. He told him that they had found Pettigrew as well as the wizard that had murdered his wife. It was only after Harry had finished speaking, that he realised Draco had been just behind his father. He was now refusing to leave, whatever his father said to him.

While Harry was filling the Malfoys in on everything that had happened, Sirius and Remus returned with the sad news that there were no survivors in the house. They found a man and a woman, presumably the parents of the abducted child and everything about the contents of the house suggested that they were a Muggle family. Sirius borrowed Harry's cloak for extra protection, before vanishing with Dobby to Pettigrew's current location, which according to the house elf hadn't changed so far.

Draco had wanted to be a part of the planning, as had Harry, but when Lucius told his son to stay away so the adults could assess the situation without any distractions, Remus gave Harry a pleading look that asked him to deal with the younger Malfoy. Harry accepted the silent request, for now at least, and stepped away from the table. The room was small enough and they didn't bother using charms to keep the conversation quiet, so Harry could still hear most of what was being said.

When Draco didn't respond to Harry's question, he just shrugged and concentrated on what the others were discussing.

"...only building… empty… three outside..." a few words from Sirius' whispered voice managed to reach Harry.

"Pettigrew? And the other one?" Lucius asked and Harry felt Draco tense up besides him.

"...inside. Can't see… Dobby..." Lucius gave a grunt of irritation.

"What about the child?" Remus asked.

"...no… with the others?" Sirius muttered.

Remus turned away from the mirror towards Malfoy, "See to your people. We need to move quickly."

"Where should they be sent?" there was a minute of silence then Sirius started reciting an address. Lucius gave a curt nod and stepped away from the table. "Very well, I shall send them ahead and return here shortly. Draco-"

"I will wait here father." the boy said without emotion, his eyes not quite meeting Lucius'. The father glared at his son briefly, then he wordlessly left the room.

Harry hurried over to the table, "Sirius, is it like the warehouse last year?"

Harry still had the occasional nightmare about what he had seen there while he was out with the Aurors of the European Ministry. It wasn't the green coloured curse hurtling towards him that had him waking breathlessly, it wasn't even the blackness dripping from the eye socket of the Crowking's follower, but the prisoners of the Witnesses that Harry could barely recognise as being human. He and the others were sure a similar fate awaited the child that had been taken today and they were desperate to do anything they could to stop the vile kidnappers.

"No. It's just a small farmhouse out in the countryside. There are three… no two now, people keeping watch outside, but they don't look like they're expecting any trouble. I doubt there are many more inside." Sirius said, sounding relieved and Harry understood why. He had no idea how much backup Lucius Malfoy was providing, but if the situation had been anything like Rotterdam, it was unlikely to be enough.

Harry felt a little guilt at the fact he didn't dare voice the thought that what was best for the kidnapped child was to alert the Aurors. He knew Sirius and Remus both were having similar conflicting thoughts, but the chance to capture and question Pettigrew, as well as the other mysterious wizard, was not something that was likely to happen again anytime soon. Aurors would probably be able to capture them, better than Harry and the others could, but given Albus Dumbledore's influence with the European Ministry, they imagined Pettigrew may 'escape' or meet a sticky end before anyone had a chance to speak to him.

"I'm coming with you." Harry said fervently, first looking at Remus and then at Sirius through the mirror.

"Okay." Sirius said immediately.

"I-" Harry froze, realising what he had just heard. "What?"

Sirius gave a slight chuckle, "I said you can come. You've been working hard and I made you a promise some time ago, didn't I?"

Harry was stunned but extremely pleased. Remus shook his head and sighed, "I suppose there isn't much point in me saying that I think this is a bad idea? Or that Professor McGonagall or Professor _Riddle_ will not be pleased when they find out?"

Sirius winced as he imagined how that conversation would go. He hastily said, "Harry, you understand you won't be one of the ones charging into the building? You'll be outside, taking down anyone _if_ they manage to make it pass us."

"I know, I know." Harry huffed. He gave a little snort and raised an eyebrow at Sirius, "So just like the warehouse last year?"

Sirius let out a snort of his own. Last year in Rotterdam, he had to stand back while teams of Hit Wizards and Aurors stormed the building. Things hadn't exactly gone to plan however, and two Aurors guarding him, or rather the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Engrácia, were killed and Harry himself had to fight for his life. "I'm sure it won't be as bad this time. Oh, but just in case, Polyjuice, cloak and a Disillusionment Charm for good measure. Anything to add Remus?"

"Nothing I can think of at the moment." Remus said as he tried not to look to amused at Harry's look of indignation. However much he wanted to argue they were being overprotective, Harry did manage to keep his mouth shut. They weren't going to leave him behind and that was good enough for him.

"I'm coming too." Harry and Remus turned around, having forgotten briefly that Draco was still in the room with them. The Slytherin boy was determined, looking as if he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Remus looked uncomfortable, "Draco, your father clearly doesn't want-"

"I don't care what he wants." Draco spat harshly. "If Potter's going, then I'm going as well. I will not stand idly by while my mother's killer is still out there!"

"That's precisely why you can't be there. If you can't keep your emotions in check, you'll put yourself and others in danger." Sirius said calmly, without reproach or condescension. "Harry's been training to look after himself, we trust him to have our backs should something go wrong."

"Potter can look after himself?" Malfoy sneered, "Why the potion, cloak and Disillusionment Charm then?"

"Because he can't be seen." Sirius replied without missing a beat. "Just because he's coming with us, doesn't mean we can't practice caution."

Remus raised a hand to try and placate the Slytherin boy, who was slowly growing angrier, "Look, Draco, we understand how you feel-"

"You don't understand how I feel! And I've been learning how to duel, training to fight, just for this moment!" Draco snarled, raising his wand.

"We don't have time to waste, trying to convince your father to let you come along." Remus didn't glance at the wand and kept his eye contact with Draco. "If you want the people responsible for your mother's death to be captured, leave us to handle it."

"Just… try." Draco said through gritted teeth. "Try asking my father. Tell him I'll be taking Polyjuice and staying under a Disillusionment Charm. I'll stay outside with Potter, I won't… I won't put anyone in danger."

Harry had to admit, he felt a lot of sympathy for the boy he had disliked since the first moment they met. If he were in Draco's shoes, and it had been someone like Remus or Sirius that had been killed, he would loathe to stay behind.

Harry caught Remus' eye and gave a little shrug. If Draco was to come along, Harry would make sure he didn't do anything stupid. If it came down to it, he'd stun him, push him out of the way and throw the cloak over the unconscious boy. The werewolf gave a tired sigh, "I'll… suggest it to Lucius."

They waited in uncomfortable silence for what seemed like hours, but it was only a few minutes later that Lucius returned. "They are heading your way Black, four people I could trust to move quickly and quietly. Lupin, I trust that my son will be safe here with Potter?"

"About that..." Remus said slowly, "Harry is going to come with us. I expect the... seven of us will have no trouble dealing with these people, but it won't hurt to have an extra wand just in case."

Lucius looked genuinely surprised, "Practically the whole of the wizarding world is looking for Potter, you think it is wise to have him come along?"

"He'll be under the effects of the Polyjuice Potion. He'll also make sure he's out of sight under his cloak." Draco said hastily. "I'll be doing the same, to make sure he isn't in any danger."

Harry almost let out a snort of laughter, but managed to reign it in and tried to keep his face as blank as possible when Lucius regarded him. "I… see… And you, Mr. Potter, you are happy with this arrangement?"

Harry gave a little shrug and nodded, "If I suddenly feel an overwhelming desire to throw myself in danger, I trust Draco to stun me, throw me in a bush and cover me with the invisibility cloak."

Draco was nodding along, then he frowned. He scowled at Harry when he understood what the Gryffindor had meant, but he clenched his jaw and turned to his father again, "I will."

When Lucius finally agreed, albeit with great reluctance, Draco gave a little sigh of relief. He even gave Harry a little nod with a slight look of gratitude on his face.

* * *

Harry, currently disguised as a slightly overweight artist who lived two floors above their hidden-from-sight flat, was trying to keep his eyes on two things at once. First was the little farmhouse. The sun was still up, but he could see a flickering light through the windows, with the occasional glimpse of shadowy figures for brief seconds.

He couldn't see Remus, Sirius or any of the others. Like Harry, they were all Disillusioned, but Harry thought that if he looked closely enough, he occasionally caught sight of a slight shimmer in the air, where the almost invisible wizards and single witch were readying themselves to launch an attack at any moment now. The two guards outside in Muggle attire, were doing anything but guarding. They sat on a bench outside the house, sharing a bottle of something, puffing away on hand rolled cigarettes. They were clearly not expecting any trouble.

Harry quickly shifted his gaze towards the ground, to look at the second thing he had to keep an eye on. No, he hadn't stunned Draco. It was simply that watching for his feet was the easiest way to make sure he hadn't wandered off somewhere. The Slytherin was close enough that Harry could just about make out where he was standing, if he squinted hard enough, but after a while it had started to strain his eyes. It was easier to try and find the patch of tall grass that was folded over by invisible boots and the green besides it that shuffled in an agitated manner as Draco failed to keep completely still.

Once again, Harry aimed his wand at his invisible... ally, for lack of a better word. He didn't think Draco was going to do anything stupid, but Remus had been right, Draco was too emotional right now. Not that Harry could blame him.

Harry turned again to look at the building, just in time to see the two wizards suddenly straighten up, dropping the bottle as well as their smokes.

"Anti-Apparition Charm. That's the first thing we do." Sirius had said when everyone had gathered about a mile down the road. "Five of us will do the Charm, cover a lot of ground, while two take out the guards outside."

Harry saw two flashes of red that hit the guards squarely in the chest, knocking them out before they could even raise their wands.

"When the wards go up, they will immediately know they are under attack. We must move quickly. Remember that there is a child in there, possibly more than one. Our first priority is to rescue them, under no circumstance are you to put them in harm's way." Remus had held his gaze to Lucius until the man gave an irritated nod.

The door blasted open and as far away from the action as they were, Harry thought he could hear the stomping of feet as they crashed into the house. Immediately the sound of curses and hexes flying through the air disrupted the peace of the countryside. There was a harsh bellow that drowned out all other sound and Remus, looking unlike Remus but rather the drug addict that sometimes frequented the alley outside their flat, came into view. He was standing by the door, half his body inside the building as he started to chant his spells out loud. Now that the Disillusionment had worn off, something that they had expected to happen fairly quickly, there was no point in sticking to wordless spells.

Draco muttered something that Harry didn't quite catch, but was thankful to hear him speak regardless. He had forgotten briefly that he needed to keep an eye, so to speak, on Draco Malfoy.

"The one who murdered my wife is mine." the three wizards and the witch that Lucius had called here immediately nodded. Sirius and Remus replied that they would concentrate on rescuing any prisoners and subduing Peter Pettigrew, but warned that if they had a chance to take him out they would take it.

A huge ball of fire erupted from the upper level and a body flew out of a window, landing on the ground with a crack and remaining completely still. Harry didn't realise what he was doing until a hand grabbed his arm.

"What was it you said Potter? Stun and throw you into a bush?" Harry felt glad for the first time, that he was twice invisible, so that Malfoy couldn't see the blush creeping up his face. "It's one of the ones my father brought along, I don't know his name. Judging by the way he fell, I doubt there is anything you can do."

"You're sure?" Harry asked, as he brushed Malfoy's hand off his arm and leaned forwards trying to make out the figure lying there.

He didn't hear Draco's reply, since there was an ear splitting boom accompanying the flash of fire that erupted once more. Black smoke belched from all of the upper windows and another figure crashed out, but this time it wasn't a corpse. The wizard landed and briefly stumbled on the ground before turning and summoning a wall of flames between himself and the building he had escaped from. Then he turned his ragged form and started running as fast as he could.

Before Harry could do or say anything, he felt something smash into his face. He blinked several times to try and clear his vision and realised he was lying flat on his back. As he felt a tiny trickle of liquid dripping down his nose, he was vaguely aware of the retreating footsteps, followed by the vehemently hurled curses of an enraged teenager.

He struggled to his feet, looking around for the _idiot_ that had elbowed his face and run after one of the most dangerous and frightening wizard he had ever had the displeasure of encountering. Flashes of light were appearing out of thin air, but it was impossible to judge where Draco was actually at, he was moving too quickly. With an irritated growl, he looked between the burning building and the rapidly retreating figure in the filthy black robes. He wiped his nose, which thankfully didn't feel broken, let out a curse and started to give chase.

When he neared the farmhouse, he nearly blasted Lucius Malfoy with his wand, briefly forgetting the man's Polyjuiced form and only seeing the look of black murder on his face.

"Malfoy!" Harry called out, feeling slightly awkward at the lack of hostile feelings in his voice as he said the name, "He's gone that way! Down the road, to the fence. Draco's following him, I couldn't stop-"

The wizard started sprinting before Harry could even finish speaking. He was about to follow Lucius when he heard a bellow coming from the building.

"He's a damned _Animagus_! Pettigrew's a rat! A _rat!_ Someone get that bloody thing!" Harry didn't immediately recognise the sound of the voice, but the _way_ it was said, he was sure it had been Sirius who was shouting at the top of his lungs.

He looked towards the door, and sure enough, there was a rat scurrying out of the space where the door used to be. It made a ninety degree turn and followed the walls, darting underneath the bench occupied by the two unconscious wizards. There was still sounds of duelling coming from inside the house and Harry knew he had to deal with Pettigrew.

" _Serpensortia_ _legionis!_ " the words came out in a half hiss and two snakes flew out from the tip of his wand. He was able to manage four on a good day, but two wasn't bad. He had first tried to use the spell wondering if it was possible to communicate with Professor Riddle using it (he couldn't), but he remembered the brilliant ways the Headmaster controlled his own snakes and wanted to be able to do the same. Harry took in a deep breath before letting out in Parseltongue, " _Get the rat, get the Animagus_!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the two snakes shot forwards. Pettigrew poked his ratty face out from behind one of the fallen guards and squeaked in distress. One of the snakes lunged forwards into the shadows that Pettigrew had once again disappeared to, the other slithered like a rapid stream to the side to block the rat's escape. Pettigrew shot out directly into that snake with a ferocity that Harry would have described as suicidal, had it been an actual animal. The rat bit down hard just below the head of the snake, causing it to hiss and writhe before becoming still. The other conjured snake appeared suddenly and clamped it's own jaws over the head of the Animagus.

Harry shouted out in surprise, hoping Pettigrew wasn't dead, and just as he did, the rat rapidly started swelling in size. The snake was determined not to let go, causing the jaw to dislocate before being ripped entirely in two, leaving it a bloody mess next to its brother.

" _Incarcerous!"_ Harry cried and the two dead snakes jolted as if brought back to life, they transformed into tight ropes that slithered around Pettigrew's legs. " _Stupefy!_ "

The wizard threw himself onto the ground, managing to avoid the spell, and while he did so, he raised his wand in Harry's direction. " _Finite Incantatem!_ " was followed quickly by " _Crucio!_ "

Harry had been running forwards towards and had been careless with the cloak since he had a Disillusionment Charm over him, he was also far too close to dodge the spell in time. Pain. That's all he felt or thought. Pain and nothing else. He later found out that he had barely been under the spell for more than a second, but even that seemed far too long. His limbs were shaking badly as Remus tried to help him stand. "Harry? Are you okay?"

Harry nodded and turned to Pettigrew. He was unconscious and bound several times over with ropes and chains. Harry let out a little sigh and tried to smile, "Th..that was a little worse than I expected."

"I think you should head back with-" Remus began.

But Harry interrupted with a quick shake of his head. "I'm okay. How's Sirius? What happened to the other one? Did Malfoy manage to get him?"

"Sirius is fine. He's just making sure the girl we found is safe. She was the only one here. I think we managed to get here before they did anything to her, we think they were probably planning on moving her somewhere else. As for Malfoy..." Remus looked up over Harry's shoulder. "If his expression is anything to go by, I'm guessing the other one managed to escape..."

Sirius exited the building just as the two Malfoys joined them, all of them looking like themselves. Harry realised the potion had worn off when his vision started to blur, and he quickly took out his glasses and shoved them onto his face.

Lucius glared at Pettigrew's unconscious form, "Wake him up. He needs to be questioned. He may know where the other one has escaped to."

Sirius and Remus looked about to argue, probably to send Harry away, so he quickly spoke up, "He might know other places like this, places where they're keeping other children. It won't take long to ask and they're likely to evacuate any place that Pettigrew might know. We have to get the information to Tonks as soon as possible."

They still looked reluctant, but with the two Malfoys as well as Harry giving them stubborn looks, they let out a sigh. Sirius wordlessly took out a little bottle of clear liquid from his robes and crouched over Pettigrew. After prising his jaw open, he slipped a few drops of the potion into the unconscious man's mouth. Then he pointed his wand at him and muttered a quiet incantation.

"Peter Pettigrew." the wizard slowly blinked awake, but his expression was dazed and without emotion. He slowly turned to the former Auror who had said his name and gave a small nod, indicating that he was listening. "One of your companions has escaped. The one in the dark and grimy robes. The one who you were with in Seville when you attacked the family and kidnapped the child. Who is he?"

"We call him Saiblinge. He is Wahrzeugen, a True Witness. He is one of the most loyal and trusted followers of the King of Crows." Pettigrew said in a bland tone.

"Where has he escaped to?" Lucius asked impatiently.

Pettigrew turned to him slowly, his expression still blank. "I do not know."

"Where does he live? Where would he have gone to in the event this location was compromised?" Sirius questioned.

"He lives anywhere and everywhere without a roof over his head. He hides himself amongst the lowest of the low, with Muggles in their filthy cities. I do not know where he would be." Pettigrew answered with infuriating calm and Lucius let out a shuddering breath as if to reign in his anger.

Sirius began questioning him about other places, where Pettigrew himself might go to hide or where the Witnesses had taken other children, like the warehouse in Rotterdam. When the compliant wizard finished speaking, Sirius scowled in displeasure. "Is that all?"

"Yes."

"I was hoping this one would know more." Sirius muttered. "He's like all the others, they avoid leaving one person with too much information in case they're captured. One or two of these places are also likely to be traps or dead ends as well…"

"It's better than nothing." Remus commented.

"Dobby." Sirius called as he made some final touches to the piece of parchment he was scribbling on. He rolled it and sealed it with a tap of his wand before handing it over to the house elf that had appeared. "You know what to do."

Dobby nodded with a determined look on his face. "To Missis Tonkses. And not being seen, never being seen."

When the elf vanished they quickly turned their attention again to Pettigrew. Sirius asked, "What are you doing with the Muggles? What orders were you given to be living amongst them?"

At this question Pettigrew opened his mouth then shut it again. He blinked and visibly shivered, tilting his head side to side while making vague wordless noises from his mouth. Harry frowned, "What's wrong? Is the Veritaserum wearing off?"

"No. Even with the few drops I've given him, it should last a lot longer." even so, Sirius took out the bottle and stared at it with a scowl. Harry could guess that the thoughts going through the man's mind probably involved unfavourable opinions about the current Potions professor at Hogwarts, who was the one that had brewed the truth serum. Sirius shook his head, "I think he's trying to fight it off. He is likely to have conditioned himself from revealing too much important information which is, unfortunately, the sort of answers we desperately need."

" _Crucio._ " Lucius said almost lazily. Sirius, Remus and Harry all jumped back and turned their wands to Malfoy. Remus lunged for his arm and twisted it away from the man screaming on the ground. Pettigrew was letting out a shaky breath, but his expression still lacked the anguish of a man who had just been tortured. Lucius ignored the glares being sent his way, "The Cruciatus Curse on those that have taken Veritaserum is a known effect method of extracting information from those who can resist the potion."

"If it doesn't simply rip their minds apart!" Sirius roared, his wand still pointing at Lucius.

"If he is resisting the potion, then that is exactly what we need to do. Weaken his mind enough so that he will reveal his secrets." Lucius said coldly. "You are no longer an Auror, Black, and remember what is at stake here."

Sirius turned his seething glare away from Malfoy and his eyes met Harry's. Harry clenched his jaw and turned away, unable to face him. He was afraid it would show on his face, the fact that he agreed with Lucius Malfoy. They needed this information and he also couldn't hide feeling a bitter righteousness at seeing the man tortured. Hours ago Pettigrew was involved in the killing of two innocent people and the taking of their daughter, minutes ago Harry had endured the same torture, albeit very shortly, that Lucius was inflicting on the Animagus.

Harry only looked up again when Sirius questioned Pettigrew again. "What are the Zeugen's plans with the Muggles?"

Pettigrew shook his head, sweat beading down his brow. "S..su..subjugation… th..through magic… create… create… no. No. No..."

" _Crucio._ " Lucius flicked his wand at Pettigrew again but only for a second, pausing before the others moved to stop him again. "Answer our questions, rat! What is Albus Dumbledore planning?"

"No. No. No. No." Pettigrew muttered through violent shakes. Harry was sure it wasn't just the effects of the Cruciatus Curse.

Harry looked up just then, as Remus moved slightly. He was holding something in his hands, pointed at the figure being interrogated. It was a little glass box where two eyeballs (they assured Harry later that it wasn't real) were suspended in a viscous liquid. The werewolf had been holding it since the moment Pettigrew was revived, recording everything that was coming out of his mouth.

"Peter Pettigrew, are you Zuegen, a Witness of Grindelwald, the King of Crows? Answer me!" Sirius barked harshly.

His head was rocking back and forth, and he tried to stop himself from speaking by biting down on his lips. His mouth twisted open in a silent scream, blood dripping down his chin, and he finally gasped out, "Yes… Yes… The Crowking is my master. The Crowking sees all."

"But he is dead." Sirius continued. "Who commands you now? Is it Albus Dumbledore? Does he command the forces Grindelwald left behind?"

Pettigrew jerked his head wildly and closed his arms tightly around himself, only letting out a long wheezy breath. No one flinched when he started screaming again after Lucius' softly spoken incantation. "The truth, Pettigrew, the truth! We know of their past, of Dumbledore and Grindelwald's secret alliance. With Grindelwald dead, is it now Dumbledore who wields the Witnesses, controlling them to murder, to torture and to rule the wizarding world? Speak, Pettigrew! _Crucio!_ Speak!"

The scream finally subsided and Pettigrew raised his head towards them. His eyes were halfway rolled in their sockets and tears streamed down them, blending with the sweat, snot and blood already covering his face. Everyone waited in complete silence as Pettigrew struggled to work his mouth. He finally managed to utter hoarsely, "Yes… Dumbledore controls the Zeugen. Dumbledore sees all..."

Five people simultaneously let out a shaky breath. They finally had it. Proof of Dumbledore's coalition with his supposed enemy. They had suspicions, strong suspicions, but never any concrete proof that the two sides were one and the same. It was a victory, but they felt anything but victorious. They had always been working under the assumption of this fact, but with it actually confirmed came the daunting realisation of how truly powerful, insidious and _evil_ their enemy actually was. Simply put, their enemy was the most powerful wizard, both magically and politically, in Europe at this time.

Remus cleared his throat, "Pettigrew. Does Dumbledore plan to bring Grindelwald back from the dead?"

Lucius and Draco turned their heads to Remus, looking both startled and horrified at the idea. They hadn't shared their suspicions on the matter with the Malfoys.

Pettigrew was still twitching and wheezing, his face slowly turning an unpleasant shade of purple. "Resurrection… Death and death and life and… together… Immortality-"

With a gurgling noise, he collapsed forwards, crashing face first into the ground. Sirius leaned over and checked for a pulse. "He's still alive."

"What was that about? Bringing the Crowking back from the dead?" Lucius asked softly, as if hesitating to even voice such a thing out loud.

"It was just a theory we had." Remus said vaguely. "You know that Professor Riddle always thought that it was going to happen."

"Yes, I know." Lucius waved his hand dismissively. "I just presumed he was… wrong."

"He wasn't wrong about Dumbledore." Sirius muttered darkly. He swiped a hand over his face, looking exhausted and far older than he looked just an hour ago. He stared down at Pettigrew, who was still twitching slightly, and gave his arm a slight kick. "Okay, we've already been here too long, we should get moving. Malfoy, you said you have somewhere secure we can keep Pettigrew?"

"My people will take him there." Lucius confirmed.

"Do you think we need to question any of the others before sending this location to Tonks?" Remus asked.

Sirius shook his head, "They were all taking orders from Pettigrew or… Saiblinge, was it? I have strong doubts they'll know anything important."

Lucius barked out orders to the three that were standing some distance apart. The witch made her way to her dead comrade, preparing to Apparate away with the body. The two wizards lurched over to Pettigrew. Harry made his way around them. Sirius and Remus were watching the recording, which was faintly being projected onto the walls of the farm house.

"-if people are going to buy it." Sirius sighed. "Would have preferred a clean confession, but I doubt he would have given anything without the Cruciatus Curse."

"That curse is vile enough to coerce someone into saying anything, just to stop the pain. The recording can't prove that Pettigrew was under Veritaserum, and even that isn't infallible." Remus agreed tiredly. He turned around and noticed the boy approaching them. "Everything alright, Harry?"

"Just thinking about the little girl. Are you sure it won't be better for us to take her somewhere safe ourselves?" they had agreed beforehand that, providing no urgent medical attention was needed, it would be better to leave any prisoners they found for the Aurors to deal with. They certainly couldn't take her with them, the safehouse was already cramped enough. Beyond that, having a five or six year old girl who's parents had just been murdered and was without, they presumed, any knowledge of magic or the wizarding world, would be a disaster waiting to happen. They considered leaving her with people they could trust, but it would raise awkward questions when she woke up and started screaming about the people that had broken into her home with wooden sticks and they weren't willing to Obliviate her with their limited experience with the spell.

"Tonks said she would work out a way to send someone trustworthy here, or try and get onto the team herself." Remus tried to dispel Harry's worry. "We need to trust Tonks to do her job. When the girl wakes up, she will need the kind of help that we won't be able to provide. I know you feel bad, but we have to leave it to the authorities to handle the situation."

Harry nodded mutely. Sirius gave him a consoling pat on the arm, "I'll make sure-"

A sudden shout cut him off and they all turned towards Malfoy, Draco that was, who was pointing at Pettigrew's twitching body, which had been hoisted up by the two wizards. "H..his eye!"

Everyone quickly gathered around and Sirius cursed under his breath. "Put him down! You! Hold down his legs, and you grab his arm! Remus the other one, hurry!"

Peter Pettigrew's left eye was black and bulging and dripping and didn't look very much like an eye any more. Harry stared in horror at the sight that he had witnessed once before, Sirius aimed his wand at Pettigrew's face and began a long incantation while trying to pull his hand back. His hand was shaking, not from fear or anger, but purely from exertion, it was as if he was trying to drag out a heavy weight out of Pettigrew's skull.

They barely heard the faint cracking noise over Sirius' voice, but they all heard the cry of a crow. The wizard holding down Pettigrew's leg gave a flinch and relaxed his grip, casing the body to kick out. But Harry was sure he wasn't doing it consciously, Harry wasn't even sure if Pettigrew was still alive as his body broke out into jerky spasms.

There was another caw and with it a beak protruded from Pettigrew's head. Not from the socket of the eye as Harry had been dreadfully expecting, but from above it on his forehead, like a horrifyingly bad imitation of a unicorn. Remus gritted his teeth, while still holding tightly to the man's arms, "Sirius?"

He continued his incantation until the beak slipped back inside and with that Peter Pettigrew gave a final shuddering exhale before becoming completely still. Sirius shook his head and stood from his crouch, "He's gone. Get back, everyone, get back now!"

They stepped back, forming a wide circle around the corpse. They all had their wands out even though most of them didn't have a clue what was about to happen, Harry included. But he didn't dare ask, he just waited with baited breath along with everyone else.

There was another crack, this time much louder and a lot less pleasant. Harry was sure now that Pettigrew was dead, since no one could still be alive while their skull was split in two. With a deathly shriek the black plumed creature birthed out, throwing blood and gore, taking flight much quicker than anyone had expected. It looked like a crow, only larger, about the size of Hermione's pet kneazle and although he couldn't be completely sure, Harry thought that as he watched it glide through the air that it was slowly growing larger.

"Kill it!" Sirius shouted at all of them and every single one of them began throwing spells at it without hesitation.

" _Stupefy!_ " Draco shrieked. "What in Morgana's name is that thing?"

"Something bad!" Sirius replied. " _Fumos! Incarcifors!_ Just blast the damn thing out of the sky!"

The pale smoke that shot out of his wand spread wide, shaping itself into a net that cast itself into the sky. The edges swung around, closing around the gigantic bird and as the ends met together, they locked and formed a vast cage that glinted with a metallic sheen against the sunlight. As it rapidly started shrinking around the creature, the crow flapped its wings once, then darted forwards with great speed. With a sound that was more of a roar than a birdcall, it smashed through the metallic bars as if they were made of paper.

"Do- Where's Dobby?" Remus shouted after he hurled another hex.

"Not back yet! _Impedimenta!_ " Sirius roared. "Remus get Harry and-"

Lucius spoke at the same time, "Travers! Take my son and-"

"No!" the two boys shouted at once, then they aimed their wands and said the spell that was freshest on their minds, one that Sirius had used just a moment ago. " _Impedimenta!_ "

Harry wasn't sure if it was because the creature had flown that slightest bit closer in that time or if it was because there were two wands firing the spell almost simultaneously, but for the briefest of moments the bird was frozen in the air.

It quickly recovered and angled towards them again, but Sirius had half a grin on his face. "On three, the Impediment Jinx! One! Two! Three- _Impedimenta!_ "

The word was echoed by the seven others around him, and although it wasn't nearly as well timed as the two teenagers had done, it was enough. The violent noise it made was suddenly cut off and it went completely still in the moment of beating its wings to avoid the Jinxes.

Although Sirius had shouted, "Get it! Now!", it wasn't really necessary. Half of them had already started sending destructive curses towards the creature. Travers and the other wizard Harry didn't know the name of, launched a familiar green curse and the others spells he didn't recognise at that moment. Harry himself remembered the amount of damage the Blasting Curse had done to his former home, and sent it towards the giant crow with all the destructive anger he could muster.

With a short, panicked squawk, it exploded in the air, raining down ink-black tar over all of them. Despite feeling absolutely disgusted that he was covered in bits of eyeball and dark magic, he let out a bubbling laugh of relief and exchanged a grin with Sirius.

"What now?" Lucius spat, glaring at Pettigrew's form. "We just lost our greatest lead."

The smile faded slightly from Sirius' face. "We're alive. We'll still take him, I want to have a good look through his belongings before leaving him for the Aurors."

"I guess I'll stay behind then." Remus said and Harry handed over the invisibility cloak. "Thank you Harry. Dobby should return soon, he can take you back."

"The elf will need to relay another message to the Auror when it gets back." Lucius sounded a lot calmer after several applications of the Scouring Charm over his robes. "I will drop off Potter at the safe house before returning to England."

Everyone immediately tensed, but thankfully no wands were raised. Remus cleared his throat, cutting Sirius off and said diplomatically, "It's fine, you have your own business to attend to."

Remus took out the box with the two eyeballs, opened it with a tap of his wand and handed one over the Lucius Malfoy. He took it, placed it in his robes and stared at the werewolf with his chin slightly raised. "So I suppose all that talk of trust from before hasn't had time to sink in yet?"

"This is not the time for this discussion Malfoy." Sirius began, his narrowed eyes clearly showing distrust.

"I left my son in your care while I gathered the forces needed for the assault." Lucius said coolly. "One of whom, if I may add, has died today."

Sirius scowled, "We would never hurt-"

"Harry." Remus quickly interrupted. "It's up to you."

Harry stared at Lucius for a moment before shrugging. "I'll go with him. He's right, you need Dobby to get the message to Tonks quickly. I don't want the girl to stay here any longer than necessary."

Sirius eventually gave a jerky nod, "I'm warning you Malfoy-"

"Yes, yes. Get him back safely in one piece, or you will track me down and kill me?" Lucius waved dismissively. "Or were you threatening to go after my son?"

"I told you, we would _not_ hurt a kid." Sirius said through gritted teeth.

"And that is why Riddle's little army is in such a mess. If he had acted with more ruthlessness with the information he had, he might have been able to prevent Dumbledore from gaining so much power." Lucius sneered. Then he pointed his wand at Harry, who flinched back. " _Scourgify."_

Lucius raised an eyebrow at Sirius, who had raised his wand at the same time. Sirius went slightly red and muttered something under his breath before lowering his weapon. Without another word, Lucius Malfoy placed one hand on Harry's shoulder, the other already gripping his son, and Disapparated.

It took either three or four, maybe five, (Harry had lost count after the second) Apparitions in quick succession to arrive back in the alley outside the flat. Harry clenched his jaw and fought off the wave of nausea that threatened to make this already filthy place a little bit worse.

When he opened his eyes again Lucius stood there facing him. "Alive?"

"Yes." Harry replied curtly.

He crossed his arms waiting for a snide remark about _trust issues_ or such, but Lucius Malfoy merely gave him a slight nod, that could just about be described as polite. "I will return with an update just before I set the plans in motion. It will take a few days."

"Right." Harry said. "I'll tell them that."

"Draco." Lucius motioned for his son, who Harry realised wasn't looking any better than he did at the quick and disorienting travelling. He wondered if this whole show of politeness was just to give Draco time to recover.

Draco stepped besides his father and turned to Harry, giving him a slight nod. Harry returned one unconsciously before remembering the elbow to the nose, but before he could say anything, or even scowl, the two were gone.

With a sigh, Harry stepped into building and slowly began climbing the stairs, before walking back down, then going up again. He stood in front of the door and tapped the handle lightly with his wand before turning it open. He stepped inside and froze.

" _Silencio! I_ _ncarcerous!_ _Stupefy!"_ Harry cried in quick succession. There wasn't a single person that should have been in this room at this time. Lucius was warned not to reveal this location to anyone, and the only other people that had been here, Sue and Ernie, should not have even remembered the location as long as they were still wearing the matching bracelets that Sirius and Remus had made.

It was more than that though, with the dark cloak and a tangled mess of hair, the figure had more than a passing resemblance to the escaped Saiblinge, as he stood in the kitchen with his back to Harry.

The figure whirled around in surprise, and was hit with the Silencing Charm. He raised a single arm over his face and the ropes seemed attracted to it, twisting around it instead of his whole body. It quickly formed a cast-like shield, which he quickly shifted towards the flash of red heading his way, blocking it without any trouble.

Harry raised his wand again, trying to think up the most destructive spell he could use without actually damaging the flat, but his arm suddenly dropped to his side, as did his lower jaw. His stare of disbelief slowly turned into a grin, a smile brighter and more genuine than he could have managed in the last few months. " _Professor Riddle!_ "

Tom Riddle returned a quiet little smile. He looked far too pleased despite the fact, or perhaps because, his student had managed to leave him completely silent.


	53. Year 5 - Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **Bad Tidings**

The flashing images against the blank walls flickered then disappeared. Tom Riddle slowly let out a breath of air that he had been holding. He turned to Harry, who was still beaming at the reunion with his mentor, despite having had to watch the brutal scene of torture again of a man who was no longer amongst the living. Riddle then levelled his gaze at Remus and Sirius. His expression was blank, but they both squirmed under the scrutiny.

"He's fine." Sirius finally broke. "Harry's fine. He's been through a lot, a lot more than most people twice his age, but he's proved himself to be strong."

The teenager frowned slightly as the man spoke as if Harry wasn't in the room. Before he could comment, Riddle quietly replied, "Seeing a man tortured for information is not something a fifteen year old boy should see. Ever."

"There was other lives at stake!" Harry bristled in indignation. "Tonks said that when the raids were taking place, half the places were already cleared out and the others were in the process of doing so. Any delay would have meant they would have escaped!"

"And how much more could have been done, if you had taken Pettigrew elsewhere and thoroughly checked him for spells before you began the questioning?" Riddle asked softly, his eyes still on Sirius. "There are reasons for the procedures you must take when you question suspects, you should have known this as an Auror. You should not have allowed yourself to be swayed by Lucius, his grief clouds his judgement. And I realise seeing the girl taken would have worried you, for others like her that are undoubtedly out there, but think of what we could have learned if Pettigrew was still alive to be questioned once more..."

Sirius lowered his head, looking thoroughly chastised. Even Harry felt embarrassed and guilty for willing Sirius into the questioning there and then. He couldn't deny that part of him wanted Pettigrew questioned immediately so that he could be there to hear whatever the vile man had to say.

"I'm sorry." three voices mumbled.

"What's done is done, I suppose." Riddle sighed. "Now that you have this recording, what did you intend to do with it?"

"Lucius Malfoy… using his contacts we were going to spread the information to people who can chip away at his power. When we convince enough of them, we will then take action to apprehend him." Sirius answered quickly. "Not really the quickest solution, but we agreed we need to be careful. Ignoring the fact that it may not be believed at all, having it spread too quickly will only cause chaos."

"The vacuum of his sudden removal will indeed cause trouble. I suppose having someone like Lucius will aid us here." despite the words, the Professor didn't look entirely content with the plan.

They remained silent, reluctant to speak when the former Headmaster looked so deep in thought. Sirius cleared his throat, "Is it true you were in America?"

Riddle nodded absently, "Tracking down a lead. There were rumours of Grindelwald's involvement in the troubles there in the twenties..."

"The Great Fire of New York?" Remus asked with some surprise.

"Yes… Nothing was ever proven, of course. The Magical Congress preferred to sweep the whole incident under the rug and forget about it. My understanding of it is, it was not as thoroughly investigated as it should have been." Riddle shook his head.

"I suppose if they had to burn a city, killing countless Muggles in the process, in order to uphold the Statute of Secrecy, they would have wanted to forget it as soon as possible." Sirius muttered.

Harry gasped. Even with his very basic knowledge of history, he knew about the great fire that had engulfed the city of New York in the early part of the twentieth century. "It wasn't caused by Muggles then? Not an accident?"

"Definitely not, it was an action sanctioned by the Congress and the President at the time. Even to this day they remain tight lipped about it, isolating themselves from the rest of the wizarding world in the process." Riddle said, suddenly looking exhausted. "Now that I know the truth, I can say I have some understanding of why they chose to do so..."

"What was it?" Remus whispered.

"Something appeared in the city. Something that was seen by far too many people to be remedied by Obliviators." Professor Riddle closed his eyes. "It was… an Obscurial."

The reaction from Sirius and Remus was one of absolute shock. Harry on the other hand, like in so many situations like these, was completely confused. "What's an Obscurial?"

"Something that has not been seen for a very long time..." Professor Riddle said gravely. "An Obscurial is… a child. A young witch or a wizard that has been forced to hide their magical nature from the non-magical world. To repress it in order to protect themselves from persecution, abuse and even death. They hide it by essentially ripping the magic away from themselves, creating an Obscurus. This manifestation, one born from pain and suffering, is… destructive, and far more dangerous than you can imagine."

The words 'child' and 'abuse' refused to leave his mind and suddenly he realised why. Remus and Sirius let out a gasp as they came to the same conclusion, "The Zeugen, the kidnappings… The children and the torture… Are you saying…?"

"Yes." Riddle opened his eyes and stared at them in turn. "They are creating weapons."

"Impossible… Impossible..." Remus breathed, shaking his head in dismay. "There is hardly any information on Obscuri, but everything points to one thing. They _cannot_ be controlled..."

Riddle chuckled humourlessly, "I think the fact that Europe isn't a wasteland proves otherwise. If even a single one escaped these… experiments Grindelwald's people are conducting, we would know about it. No, I think they have long passed the point of experimenting, I think they have already succeeded and these weapons already exist out there."

"The bottles..." Harry muttered suddenly.

Riddle made a grimace and nodded. "The Nullificare Charm, you are already familiar with. The Affirmare… is one I also believe you have seen? It is the one Gideon Prewett has had to use since the day of his brother's death. Then there is one more, one that was created much later, although Albus Dumbledore still claims credit for it. One that is shrouded in far more mystery than its two brothers, one that the Department of Mysteries refuse to even give a name to. But one that is by far the most powerful, even allowing Squibs to overcome their disabilities and harness magic."

Harry suddenly felt sick. He had touched one of those and felt… powerful. Even after so long he remembered how it felt, that rush of restless energy, one that made him feel as if he could do anything in the world. The knowledge of how it was created removed any and all thoughts of ever wanting to hold it in his hands again. He closed his eyes and said hoarsely, "There's one in Hogwarts..."

"Yes… Mr. Filch the caretaker..." Riddle said, his voice heavy with worry.

"Do you think it's dangerous?" Remus asked sharply. "Are the students in danger?"

"If what we suspect is true, it is one of the most dangerous things to have ever been allowed within the grounds of Hogwarts." Riddle looked pained. "The only consolation is that in all the years Mr. Filch has had possession of it, there has never even been a hint of trouble concerning it. And while I hope that this will continue to be the case, I think it prudent that we get word of it to Minerva, so that she can keep an eye on it and be prepared should the worst come to pass."

"We haven't been able to get in contact with her for a while." Sirius said shakily. "After they increased security… We've tried everything we could think of that wouldn't compromise her position."

"Have you considered going to one of the Headmasters' portraits?" Riddle asked.

Sirius frowned, "Yes, of course. But their counterparts are all located in very public places, like the Ministry or St. Mungo's. Security in those places are almost as tight as Hogwarts and to actually send a message without being seen..."

Riddle stared at him, looking slightly disappointed. "Even after all this time… Tell me Sirius, who were the last two Headmasters before me?"

"Er..." Sirius looked uncertain, "Dippet was before you, I think?"

"And before him?" Riddle raised an eyebrow.

Sirius scrunched his face in thought. Eventually Remus rolled his eyes and answered for him, "Black. Phineas Nigellus Black."

"Oh." Sirius said quietly.

"Yes. A Slytherin Headmaster happened to slip your mind, I dare say?" Riddle said with a look of mild irritation.

"No… um… I..." Sirius stuttered.

Remus shot his friend an annoyed look as well, "You know of some place that hangs his portrait?"

"Yes." Sirius eventually muttered quietly. "In my defence, it's not a place I like to think of. Ever."

"Where is it?" Harry asked.

Sirius heaved out a great sigh. "It's the house I grew up in. Grimmauld Place. Home, not so sweet, home..."

* * *

"This place is horrible." Harry coughed. The mere act of walking was kicking up a dust storm.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Sirius remarked sarcastically. He had been acting moody ever since he realised he would have to return to number twelve Grimmauld Place.

"If you hate the place so much, why didn't you get rid of it? Sell it or something?" Harry asked with a sleeve over his mouth.

"Doesn't belong to me." Sirius replied sullenly, "At least… it didn't used to… Not really sure now… Although I guess the fact that the house hasn't kicked us out or collapsed on top of us means it doesn't see me as an enemy… The property went to my brother when my mother finally kicked the bucket."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Harry said.

"Don't be. A truly nasty, horrible piece of work she was." Sirius snorted. "Couldn't you tell by all the lovely things she shouted at us when we came in?"

"What? There was no one-" Harry stumbled and coughed again. "Y..you mean that… portrait?"

"And I can positively say that the painting is pleasant compared to actually being with her in person." Sirius shuddered.

Harry continued to followed Sirius, who was following Professor Riddle, up the stairs. "What happened to your brother?"

"Died." Sirius said simply. But the hate on his face from talking about his mother had vanished, melting into sadness. "Damned idiot… should have been more careful..."

They reached the landing to find Professor Riddle waiting for them, a look of sorrow on his face. "I am sorry Sirius."

"Not your fault." Sirius said curtly. "He's not the only one to have died in the war against Grindelwald. And Dumbledore apparently..."

Riddle looked like he had more he wanted to say, but he shook his head and turned. They remained silent as they continued to make their way up the building, until they were finally in a room, looking as dusty and disused as the rest of the house.

There was a single portrait hanging on the wall, one that Harry vaguely recognised from the Headmaster's office. If he had to give a title to the painting, with the clever looking wizard leaning on his hands, he would call it 'Utmost Boredom'. As they approached, the wizard shuffled and raised his head. " _Finally_. I know you were, unfortunately, sorted into Gryffindor, but I still expected you to have enough brain cells to arriv- Ah. Professor Riddle. I find it disappointing, but _utterly believable_ , that my great-great-grandson didn't even consider my portrait here."

"Hello Phineas. It has been a while." Riddle greeted as Sirius seethed quietly behind him. "How are things in the castle?"

"I'm sure you don't want _my_ opinion on the matter." Phineas replied in a bored tone. "Professor McGonagall describes the situation as… 'deplorable'."

Riddle's eyes narrowed, "What has happened?"

"They sent in someone from the Ministry. Her name is… Bit- no… Hag? No, that's not it either… Ah… Umbridge..." the portrait smirked.

Listening to the former Headmaster speak of what Hogwarts was like now, Harry was glad he wasn't there, but he felt extremely sorry about what his friends were suffering through.

"It seems she already has a lot on her plate." Riddle sighed. "Phineas, tell her Harry is safe, as is Sirius, Remus and I. Also, and this is very important Phineas, she needs to keep an eye on Mr. Flich and the Charm that he has that allows him to use magic. Do not provoke him, or give any indication that you consider the object dangerous. I do not believe Filch knows what he carries, but I think the object itself may have some basic form of sentience. Tell her… tell her that we suspect the creation of it at one point involved an Obscurus."

Phineas' eyes widened. "Surely not."

"We suspect." Riddle repeated. "Go now. And send her my love."

"Yes. Yes. I shall." Phineas muttered distractedly as he disappeared out of the edges of the painting.

"How do you prepare for the possibility of something like that being unleashed in the school?" Harry asked worriedly.

"By raising wards to cut off powerful dark magic from spreading too quickly from one part of the school to another. Hopefully it will buy her enough time to get the students to safety. I also suspect she'll have one or two house elves follow Mr. Filch's every move." Harry didn't think this sounded like enough, and from the Riddle's expression, he could tell that the Professor was thinking along similar lines. "She is more than capable, I am sure she will have half a dozen other ideas she will implement as well."

"Has your wife ever heard of the saying, not to stun the messenger?" Phineas was scowling as he stepped back in front of them. He paused, looking as if he had a bad taste in his mouth, "She also… sends her love."

Sirius smirked, "She took the news better than I imagined she would."

"Oh no. She is _furious_. Also appalled, disgusted and said several other things I shall now lower myself to repeat, that such a thing exists." Phineas sniffed. "She expects you have a plan to get it away from the students as soon as possible?"

"We are working on it." Riddle reassured the portrait.

"I certainly hope so. All the other Headmasters are in an uproar about it." Phineas remarked.

"Has she said anything else?" Riddle asked.

"Be safe. And she sends word to the Potter boy. She hopes you are keeping up with your studies." Phineas turned his painted eyes to Harry, who pursed his lips. The portrait of the former Headmaster snorted, "I suppose _that_ answers that."

"How do you feel about a change of scenery?" Riddle asked.

"A change of scenery? And what, not spend any more time staring at the barren husk of what used to be the home of one of the greates- Hey!" Sirius savagely pulled the portrait off the walls, his expression a savage glee at the indignant tone of his painted ancestor. "Watch it! Be careful not to damage the frame! You ought to know that it was made-"

They left the building much quicker than they had entered it, not wanting to stay there any more than necessary. They didn't return to the safehouse they had been staying in, back in France. The flat was barely large enough to accommodate three people and a house elf, having another person stay would just make it uncomfortable for everyone. There was also the fact that events were now unfolding back home, in Britain, and they wanted to be in a place where they could leap into action quickly.

A few hours ago, Harry had taken an illegally made Portkey and arrived dizzily, only to be greeted by a sign that told him, "Danger. Unexploded military debris. Do not leave the carriageway."

He followed Professor Riddle, who completely ignored the sign without hesitation, and turned away from the road and started trudging through the overgrown grass. They were in a tiny little place, not even a place you could really call a village, with about a dozen or so buildings in total. There wasn't a single person in sight and most of the buildings just had an empty hole where the doors and windows should have been. They soon reached a house that looked completely identical to most of the other dilapidated buildings. Harry stepped through the doorless hole, following Riddle and Remus, with some trepidation. The inside was just as bad, it was empty of any furniture and the walls were grey where they weren't coated with murky grime. He inhaled a lungful of dust and immediately clapped his hand over his mouth and nose, Harry was sure a sneeze _wouldn't_ bring the whole place crashing down, but he wasn't willing to bet his life on it.

The Professor and Remus were waiting for Harry and Sirius at the end of a corridor that seemed to be a dead end. "Harry, Sirius, follow my finger, look where I'm pointing at."

And so they did and were surprised, Harry much more than Sirius was, when a door suddenly appeared on the wall. Or perhaps the door had always been there, but they hadn't noticed until the Professor pointed it out.

They entered the door to find a room that reminded Harry quite strongly of Hagrid's little place on the school grounds. It was cosy and quickly warmed when the Professor lit a fire in the fireplace. Although it was quite obvious no one had inhabited the place in quite some time, Harry couldn't help but like the place. It was the sort of place Harry wouldn't entirely mind being holed up in, if he had to go into hiding.

This is the place that they returned to after they left twelve Grimmauld Place. Even in the brief hour or so, the place showed remarkable improvement. When Dobby had arrived, he looked about eagerly at all the dust and breathed in the musty air with a slight look of pleasure before throwing himself at the job that no one had asked him to do. Harry called to Dobby with the intention of offering to help, but the look on the house elf's face made him falter and he ended up just watching quietly before going to visit Sirius' childhood home.

Remus hadn't returned yet. He had gone back to chase some leads that had come about while going through Pettigrew's belongings. It wasn't much and they really didn't think anything would come of it, but they didn't have the luxury of leaving any stones unturned at this point.

Sirius threw the currently empty frame onto a table and wandered off to find the kitchen, muttering about needing a drink. Riddle sat down on an armchair staring blankly into the fire. Even though he wasn't actually doing anything, Harry still had the impression that the man was very busy in his mind, with a thousand thoughts going through his head. Harry cleared his throat, "Professor Riddle?"

"Yes?" he turned to Harry with an apologetic look, "Sorry. Lost in my thoughts. What it is Harry?"

Harry had already filled the Headmaster in on most of what had happened while he was away. With Remus and Sirius' return, watching Pettigrew's confession and the need to send a warning to Professor McGonagall, certain things remained unsaid. It wasn't as if he was trying to hide it, or was still under the influence of a hex that prevented him from speaking about it, but he just wasn't exactly sure when to fit in the part that the invisibility cloak that Corinne had given him was one that once belonged to his father. At first he had wanted to wait until the others returned so that the Professor could actually see the cloak for himself, but the Professor immediately asked to see the recording, which led to quickly packing everything so that they could return to Britain. It had been a very busy few hours.

"The cloak I mentioned..." Harry began slowly, "The one that Corinne, or whoever it was, gave to me..."

Riddle nodded. Harry stood up and wandered over to his bag, pulling out the object that Remus had returned to him in the chaos of preparing to return to Britain. He held it out in front of the Professor wordlessly, who took it with a slight frown.

He examined it, curious and confused, but Harry could tell that the Professor didn't recognise it. Of course he wouldn't have seen it as often as Sirius or Remus did. Professor Riddle finally looked up at Harry questioningly so Harry cleared his throat, trying to speak.

"That was James' cloak, the one we thought was destroyed." Sirius said with ease as he walked in the room levitating a tray in front of him. "Tea?"

"Are you sure?" Riddle asked sharply.

"Yes. I've seen plenty of invisibility cloaks in my work as an Auror, but I've yet to see anything like _that_ one. I never appreciated it at the time, but there really is nothing like it..." Sirius said. He handed over a warm mug to Harry. "Remus is positive as well."

"And this was given to you, by the person disguised as Corinne?" Riddle looked as confused as they had been when this revelation was made. Sirius nodded and also told him a little more about the hexed box and the spell that made Harry want to flaunt the cloak in front of Dumbledore. Harry kept quiet until Sirius finished.

"Cloak, Stone, three brothers." Riddle turned quickly, immediately recognising Harry's words. "Professor, do you know the Tale of the Three Brothers?"

"I… am aware of the story, yes..." he definitely looked unsure of where Harry was going with this. A quick glance at Sirius showed him looking embarrassed for Harry.

He briefly regretted not waiting for Remus to return, but ploughed on regardless, pointing at the cloak Riddle was holding, "The Cloak of Invisibility, that's why they attacked my parents. And your own family, the ring that they were looking for could have been the Resurrection Stone. They just need the wand to bring Grindelwald back from the..."

Harry trailed off when he saw the Professor's expression, it made Harry feel like a five year old and a very foolish one at that. But like the good educator that he was, he kept his voice gentle, "Harry… I will not deny that in every myth or legend, there is at least a grain of truth within it, look at Hogwarts' own Chamber of Secrets, but power over Death? It is something many dream of and desire, but that is all that can ever be."

"But… you said Grindelwald would return..." Harry sounded betrayed.

"I did and I still think he will, but not from death. I do not believe he is truly gone." Riddle sighed, "There are ways, through very dark means, that one can cling on to life beyond what a person could normally endure. To come back from _that_ is not an impossibility."

"Then why take my dad's cloak? And the ring from your grandfather?" Harry asked sullenly.

"I don't know about the ring but as Sirius has said, the cloak is powerful, more so than others like it. That is reason enough for one to desire it." Riddle said. "And who knows, perhaps this cloak and the ring and even this fabled wand that exists out there somewhere, were the inspiration behind the story. Even if this is the case, the true power would lie with the wizard or the witch that had created these magical artefacts. The whole idea of 'Death' in the story probably came about as a way of describing how powerful these brothers were, if there were indeed three brothers at all."

What the Professor was saying was extremely logical. Harry had gotten carried away with the fanciful idea, he remembered that even Remus was quick to say that he didn't completely believe the story, only that it may be a clue as to what Dumbledore was up to. "But… there's still a possibility that Dumbledore is after them right? If it's power he's after..."

Riddle nodded, his expression genuine, "I suppose so. There have always been tales throughout history of powerful wands in the hands of warmongers and rings are often the subjects of wonderful enchantments or deadly curses."

"And cloaks?" Harry asked as he took back the object from the Professor's hands.

"It doesn't come up that often, I'll admit." Riddle chuckled.

"Remus?" Sirius asked suddenly. He was holding up the mirror and was staring into it. Harry heard the werewolf's voice but didn't catch the words. Sirius nodded and turned to the Professor, "Remus is with Lucius Malfoy. He is requesting a meeting with you."

"Tell Remus he can bring Lucius here." Riddle said simply.

Sirius relayed the Professor's words through the mirror. They all sat quietly, sipping tea and deep in thought. It wasn't long before Remus entered the room, followed by Lucius.

"Tom Riddle." Lucius said in a tone that was actually respectful and inclined his head in a small bow. "It is good to see you back."

"Hello Lucius." Professor Riddle greeted as he stood, a slight smile on his face. "My deepest condolences. I was sorry to hear about your wife. How is Draco? I hear he hasn't returned to Hogwarts?"

Lucius' expression tightened as he took the seat that was offered, "No. He refused to return and I did not push him as I was concerned for his safety. No disrespect to your wife, but the Ministry, and therefore Dumbledore, have gained too much of an influence there. Draco still grieves and will undoubtedly continue to do so, until the killer is caught."

Riddle nodded sadly. His eyes never left Lucius', "As do you."

"As do I." Lucius agreed with a grimace. "But I am not here to talk about that."

"You said it would take some time to move the plan into action." Sirius frowned. "Has something happened?"

"Kendra Dumbledore died earlier today." Lucius said.

Riddle took in a sharp breath and closed his eyes. "Last I heard she was recovering. Slowly but… What happened?"

"You are correct, I am unaware of the exact details but I had heard talk of how she regained consciousness for a brief time." Lucius shook his head. "When Healers came to check on her a few hours later, they found her dead. I have not been able to find out if they discovered the cause."

"Is it possible she was killed?" Remus asked quietly.

Lucius stared at Riddle for a moment, "There are some whispers that suggest a former Headmaster of Hogwarts has returned to Britain to finish her off."

Riddle quelled the outrage from three people by simply raising his hand. "I swear, I had nothing to do with it. I only stepped onto British soil a few hours ago when we came here together."

"Do you think… it's possible that her own father killed her?" Harry voiced the horrific thought that had crossed his mind. Right now there was little that Harry thought the old wizard would be incapable of doing in order to further his agenda. "His daughter dying would gain him support and sympathy..."

Remus' face went grey, "Would he truly go that far?"

Riddle didn't answer. "I suppose this will have an impact on the plans, Lucius?"

"I imagine it will." Lucius replied wearily as he slumped in his chair. "Potter's insight is correct, the masses will be disinclined to believe anything bad of Dumbledore during his time of loss. Those I were planning on approaching, they may still believe or they may not, but I know several will not want to risk openly acting against Dumbledore at this time. Some may even try to turn me in to gain influence with the... man of the hour."

"So what? That's it?" Sirius asked bitterly. "The confession is worthless?"

"Albus Dumbledore is a clever old man. If his hand was involved in the death of his own daughter, it truly was a stroke of genius." Lucius glanced up at the horrified looks coming his way. He ignored most of them, then caught Riddle's expression, "Completely disgusting and monstrous, of course. Not something anyone with a shred of decency would even consider."

"So… What are our options?" Remus asked with a note of defeat.

"I suppose we could just… show it everywhere and hope for the best?" Sirius suggested, although it didn't sound as if he was being serious. "It might get people talking… Maybe start an investigation?"

Riddle shook his head, "Even in the best case scenario where we are believed and Albus Dumbledore is apprehended, if knowledge of his actions spread… it will be utter chaos. With the situation as frayed as it already is, the European Ministry will immediately collapse, the various nations will throw blame at each other, unable to trust as to whether their neighbours were in on Dumbledore's plans. While this all happens, if Grind- or rather, Dumbledore's Witnesses take this chance to attack... there will be devastation on a scale never seen before."

"We need to… _remove_ him quietly." there was no doubt to what Lucius Malfoy was suggesting. "It will be easier than the alternative and we do not have the luxury of time. Like he did so after the incident with Potter and his relatives last year, he will use this to act quickly and efficiently. The longer we wait doing nothing, he will gain more power and influence, almost up to a level at the height of the wars against Grindelwald's fanatics. It is far from the ideal solution, but it is the only choice we have."

Several expressions turned to distaste, but no one offered a response. Riddle gave a level stare at his former student, "No, we need him alive. He already has his servants enacting his plans, we need to know what they are doing if we are to stop them."

"Capture Dumbledore alive?" Sirius muttered, "We'd sooner defeat a dragon barehanded..."

"Even with the few I could convince to fight against him, we would be hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched..." Lucius sighed. "With all due respect Riddle, I do not think even you would have a chance against him."

Riddle chuckled lightly, "No… I am not afraid to admit that he terrifies me. You are all correct, we are few and outclassed… We need to convince someone… someone who would have enough sway with certain branches of government, of Dumbledore's betrayal. Not only gaining us more manpower to confront him, but to also dismantle the plans he has already enacted while keeping the public largely in the dark."

"Might as well wish for Dumbledore to snap his own wand, overdose on Veritaserum and do a private little song and dance in front of the Wizengamot..." Sirius let out an unamused snort.

"And I thought you said the confession from Pettigrew wasn't enough?" Harry asked with a frown.

"It will not be enough." Riddle agreed. "We will need more concrete proof if this plan is to work. Getting something directly from Albus Dumbledore's lips will be impossible, but there may be something in his home. It will be a risky venture, but, as Lucius has said, we are running out of time and lack other options. As unfortunate as the death of Kendra is, her funeral will likely be a time when the place will be almost empty."

"Tonks." Sirius said suddenly. "She was offered a place within the Order. She could be our way in."

"As talented as young Nymphadora is, her skills will not be enough to penetrate the magic that would undoubtedly be placed to keep Dumbledore's secrets hidden." Riddle sighed.

"There is no one else. I would unlikely to be welcome to Dumbledore's home any more than the three wanted criminals currently in this room." Lucius said as he glanced at Sirius, Remus and Riddle in turn. "Strangers will be turned away just as quickly and the few guards that remain will likely check for magical disguises. Unless you are suggesting..."

Lucius' eyes slowly turned to Harry. The boy nodded with a determined look, "If you need me to do anything, Professor Riddle, I'm up for it..."

"I'm sure you are Harry, but the same problem remains. We need someone skilled in magic as well as being familiar with Dumbledore's. I am thinking of..." Riddle paused, then he offered his suggestion.

"Are you mad! You-" Sirius gaped and shook his head.

"With my greatest respect, I feel that Black's question needs repeating." Lucius said, struggling to keep his calm. "It is not going to work."

Remus raised his voice over the other two, "Headmaster, I am sure you haven't come up with this idea lightly."

"No. I have kept a close watch for several years, trying to divine this person's loyalties. It will not be easy, especially at this time, but I do believe we have a chance of convincing this person to help us. It is not without risk, but if we succeed we will have someone who could move the Ministry into action and do so discreetly. Perhaps even separate Albus from the Order when the time comes to confront him." Riddle nodded firmly.

"My argument still stands." Lucius said tiredly. "There is no one who could approach-"

"I can." Harry cut him off. "I can do it."

Sirius scowled, "Absolutely not! It's far too dangerous. Don't tell me you're seriously considering this, Riddle?"

Harry didn't flinch away from Riddle's scrutinising gaze. "I'm the only one who will be able to get close enough without being cursed before knocking on the door. I trust your judgement, Professor Riddle, and if you think this will work, then I want to help. I think the words will be more believable coming from me as well..."

"We will take all the precautions we can." Riddle said finally, "And I think it is time to bring Nymphadora into this. I am not letting you walk in there alone, Harry."

* * *

They arrived in the middle of nowhere, where a solitary cottage stood. It was atop a small hill with sprawling countryside in all directions. It almost felt like they had travelled to a different country, or at least a different time, as far as their eyes could see, there were no other signs of human settlement.

Tonks was still pale from all that she had learnt a few days ago. They would have liked nothing more than give her some time to get her head around the whole situation, but Kendra's funeral was happening tomorrow. They didn't have any more time to wait. Harry gave her hand, which he was still holding onto after Apparating, a little reassuring squeeze. Tonks turned to him in surprise then returned a tiny smile. "I guess you were right."

"About what?" Harry asked as they let go of each other.

"About it being better for my health if I didn't know all this..." Tonks muttered.

"Oh." Harry said, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry."

Tonks shook her head, "No need to apologise. It's horrible, but… it somehow makes sense. And there's definitely no use in burying my head in the sand."

Harry gave her an encouraging smile. "Ready then?"

Tonks looked behind them, trying to make out where the others were currently hiding some distance apart. It was too far for everyone's comfort, but it was the closest they could risk without alerting the inhabitant of the cottage. She turned to Harry. "Portkey?"

Harry took out the strange little pendant that the Professor had transfigured and showed it to her, "Ready and waiting to whisk me away as soon as I say h- Ah, I shouldn't say it, should I?"

Tonks let out a small laugh and then they started walked towards the cottage. They weren't expecting a face full of curses as they approached the little building, but still the two people both gave a little sigh of relief when they reached the door unscathed. Harry licked his lips, took in a deep breath and knocked on the door.

They waited nervously and eventually they heard the shuffling of feet inside. The door creaked slightly as it slowly opened. Dumbledore stood in the doorway, staring at them. He looked far older compared to the last time Harry had seen him, his wrinkles more pronounced, his long beard somehow greyer. But it was the eyes, the hollow, grief stricken look that aged him more than anything physical could.

Harry's heart thundered with apprehension and a little bit of fear. He swallowed nervously and slowly opened his mouth, "Hello Professor Dumbledore. It's been a while. May we come inside? We need to talk… about your brother."


	54. Year 5 - Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

 **In the Nest**

Aberforth blinked, "Mr. Potter, you've had many people quite worried for your safety."

"I know." Harry answered quietly.

His former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher shook his head slightly, "Miss… Nymphadora Tonks? You are an Auror, are you not? Are you the one who found him?"

"No sir." Tonks said meekly, for once not demanding she be addressed by her surname only.

"I must contact the Ministry." Aberforth said as he turned around. "I will need-"

"Professor!" Harry stepped into the cottage and reached for him arm, stopping him. "Not yet, sir. There's something you need to hear."

"About my brother?" Aberforth slumped his shoulders wearily. "Whatever your business with him is, I cannot help you. I am too old, too tired… I just wish to live out the rest of my life in peace…"

Harry felt sympathetic, and he knew what he came here to say would only hurt the old Professor more, but he knew it was necessary. He, along with everyone else, had tried to think up a gentle way to break this terrible information to Aberforth, but it was impossible. Harry took in a deep breath, "Professor… your brother… he's in league with Grindelwald."

Aberforth took in a sharp breath. He brushed off Harry's hand from his arms and turned, his eyes flashing with anger, making Harry tremble and take a step backwards. "How dare- He is grieving for his daughter and you dare bring up accusations like-"

"P..P..Professor!" Tonks stuttered as she fumbled out her wand and Harry didn't blame her. It took every ounce of willpower for Harry not to do the same and point his own wand at the enraged wizard. "Pl..please calm dow-"

Even in the heat of rage Aberforth managed some control and simply flicked one hand at the weapon aimed at him, making it twist out of Tonks' hand and clatter on the floor. He took in a deep breath through flared nostrils and glared at Harry, "If this is about those… those accusations thrown at my brother by Barschüler and Malfoy..."

For a fraction of a second, there was something in his eyes that Harry managed to catch. His former professor was still angry and defensive, but there seemed to be the tiniest hint of uncertainty. Harry swallowed nervously, "You… you knew then? About… your brother and Grindelwald?"

"Of course I did!" Aberforth shot back instantly. His fists were clenched, but he stared off slightly to the side, not quite meeting Harry's eyes. "Everything he did was for Ariana, everything was for our sister, Mr. Potter. He.. He.. made an unfortunate choice of friends that summer, but he did not know the depths of depravity Grindelwald would later sink to. He was youthful and naive, longing for a friend that he felt was his intellectual equal, perhaps something more, but by the time he returned, he _knew_ what kind of man Grindelwald was and turned away from that dark path. When he returned to England, it was with our sister and no one else."

"What if they kept in touch?" Harry asked softly and the glare was directed at him once more.

"Do you think Barschüler or Malfoy or even you were the first to throw these accusations in his face?" Aberforth let out wearily. "When Grindelwald started acting out in the open, people remembered my brother and their escape. If there was _anything_ at all that connected Albus to that monster, do you truly believe that the Ministry of Magic would sit on their hands and do nothing about it? There was _nothing_ , Mr. Potter, nothing at all. My brother cut all ties with that madman long before anyone in Europe knew to fear crows."

"We have proof-" the words came out scratchy and Harry had to repeat himself. With slow movements he reached for a pocket and pulled something out. "We have proof, that your brother and Grindelwald were in contact long after he returned. Long after they were supposed enemies fighting of the opposite sides of the war."

The uncertainty was more pronounced now and Harry thought he also saw a glimmer of fear as Aberforth tentatively took the letter from Harry's hand. He knew what kind of reaction to expect now that he had watched so many people read the letter. Confusion followed by slight embarrassment, the degree of which depended on the person. A little frown would appear, although it was much deeper with Aberforth since the name that appeared was his own brother's. Then seconds later, a sharp intake of breath. There was a final reaction that Harry didn't get from anyone else, although he probably should have expected it. At the final word of the letter, at the name signed, Aberforth went red, almost purple, with rage.

"No." the long wrinkled fingers trembled as the parchment was lowered. "No, Mr. Potter. Even if for a second I believed this letter was genuine and not a work of venomous fabrication worthy of Salazar Slytherin himself, this proves nothing. If you think this letter proves my brother was colluding with one of the darkest, most vile wizards of our time, then you are sorely mistaken. It does, however, give me some insight on where you have been all this time… Have you learnt nothing, Mr. Potter? Tom Riddle cannot be trusted!"

Harry grimaced at the raised voice, "You don't under-"

"He murdered my niece!" Aberforth roared, something completely unlike the kind hearted old man that used to teach his classes.

"Professor Riddle saved my life!" Harry shouted back. He understood the anger of the man standing before him, but he was frustrated at how easily the world turned their backs towards Tom Riddle. "Your niece tried to kill me! The spell she used would have killed everyone, including herself, if Professor Riddle hadn't… if he hadn't..."

Harry tried to draw in a trembling breath as he remembered that day. Of all the dangers he had faced since the moment he arrived at Hogwarts, he didn't think he had ever been closer to death.

Aberforth Dumbledore stared at him in stunned silence. He looked down at the boy's white knuckled fists and trembling shoulders. He stared into the face that had gone from red to white in a matter of seconds and at the deep green eyes that were shaky and unfocused as they replayed a memory long past.

"Kendra would do no such thing." Aberforth said with surprising calm and with a complete certainty that was lacking in his words about his brother. "If you were in any danger, it was because of Riddle. She must have discovered some nefarious plan of his and-"

Harry shook his head, "No. She tried to used the Killing Curse on me even before he arrived. I froze at that moment and… If the Headmaster hadn't pushed me aside… I would be dead."

There was a gasp. Tonks. For a moment Harry had forgotten she was here as well. Her voice was a whisper, "Wh..why would she try to kill you?"

Harry chewed on his lower lip and regarded her. This hadn't been part of the plan. They had told Tonks almost everything else, but details of the prophecy was something they decided to keep quiet. It was not simply a matter of trust. After all they had, up to a certain degree, trusted Kendra. They had no idea how a person would react if they had such knowledge, and like the Unspeakable herself, someone might consider it a necessity to act on it.

Harry looked over to Aberforth, who was waiting with a strange expression on his face. His instincts told him that his former Defence Professor would not consider the murder of a fifteen year old boy a viable option, but he couldn't be sure. What was definite, however, was that without revealing the truth, Aberforth Dumbledore would never believe what had transpired that day, he was too blinded by the obvious enemy, the Headmaster of Hogwarts who had gone out of his way to direct blame on himself.

"At the end of my third year..." Harry began slowly, "Kendra visited Hogwarts. The Nullificare Charm was… acting up and she helped fix it. After I left, she stayed behind and during her conversations with Professor Riddle, she told him about something that came up during her work as an Unspeakable. It… It was a prophecy..."

Harry could easily imagine the shouts that would have been coming from his pocket, had there not been a very effective Silencing Charm placed on it, as he told the two people why Kendra Dumbledore had tried to kill him.

When he finished, the silence was so utter and complete that for a moment he wondered if the spell that Professor Riddle had used on the mirror had spread throughout the entire room. With a bit of an effort he managed to raise his head only to cringe and look back down at the soft red and black carpet he was standing on.

"B..but that's… She wasn't completely sure it was about _you_ though, right?" there was a complete lack of confidence in Tonks' voice. "And… I don't really know about these things… but… there is a chance that… it won't happen right?"

Harry ignored the Auror's questions, took in a deep breath and looked into Aberforth's eyes. When Harry addressed him, the old wizard flinched slightly, "Professor Dumbledore, that's why she tried to kill me. That's why Professor Riddle took the blame and went on the run. It was for my safety, he couldn't risk the prophecy getting out into the open. He thinks the prophecy can be stopped, and during the duel, he never stopped trying to convince Kendra until the last moment. He offered her several chances to stop fighting and work together, but she never took it."

"She would not… She would not..." Aberforth mumbled, but the certainty had drained out of him.

There was a soft knock on the door and then it slowly swung open. Professor Riddle stepped inside with his hand raised, clearly showing his intent was not to fight. "Kendra Dumbledore grew up during a time of war. She had her uncle, one of the most talented Aurors of our age and her own father projected an image as one who stood in the forefront in the fight against the darkness. In her own misguided way, she was trying to do what was right."

Tom Riddle's voice didn't even waver when Aberforth pulled out his wand and aimed it at his heart. The wand hand shook violently as waves of varying emotion washed over the old man's face, from anger, to confusion, to heart breaking sorrow. Harry wanted more than anything to take out his wand and ready a Shield Charm in front of the Headmaster, but he doubted it would have any effect. If anything, Tonks' and his presence would only serve as a distraction should a duel actually break out.

He couldn't stop himself from letting out a small sigh of relief when Aberforth's shoulders slumped and he lowered his wand. He let out a sigh of a broken man, "I cannot… If my brother is truly what you say he is, I just… cannot. He is family, the only I have left."

"Your brother brings war, Aberforth. It was the very thing Kendra was trying to prevent." Riddle spoke softly.

Aberforth shook his head, "I will not betray my brother on the words of your mother alone. Albus has his flaws, but he wouldn't… Murder, Riddle? There is no way..."

Riddle turned to Harry and gave him a little nod. Harry quickly fumbled a little eyeball out of his pocket. He looked around the room and found a patch of empty wall. He aimed the eye towards it and tapped it with his wand while mumbling a spell.

"It is, unfortunately, not a clean confession, but it is one nevertheless." Riddle said as the images started flickering on the wall. He fell silent as everyone turned to watch Pettigrew's confession. Even after the declaration that the Zeugen worked for his brother, Aberforth didn't flinch. After each blow of terrible revelations, it seemed nothing could faze him any more. "Even though he was under Veritaserum at the time, there is no more conclusive proof in this than is in the letter from my mother. I do not expect it is enough to make you believe the worst of your brother, but I hope that perhaps it is enough to make you want to find the truth."

"What do you mean?" Aberforth asked in resignation.

"I have tried, for decades, to find if there was any truth in the last words my mother left me, but as hard as I tried, there was nothing ever conclusive. Just whispers and convoluted connections." Riddle suddenly looked as tired as Aberforth did. "Perhaps I could have done more, but I was too attached to my position as Headmaster of Hogwarts. I felt that what I did for the students mattered more. But now… Albus is working towards something, you know he is, and certain things that I have discovered recently has made me realise that he could be even more dangerous than I had originally thought. We need to know where his true allegiance lies, we need to know what he plans for the wizarding world as well as the Muggle one. You can help us get these answers."

"If he has been keeping such a secret for all this time, what makes you think he would tell me now?" Aberforth let out a cold and humourless laugh.

"He would not." Riddle agreed. "If he hasn't let it slip for so long, I do not think there will ever be a chance we would get a confession from his own lips. But there must be something, hidden somewhere he believes no one could ever get to, that will tell us what we want to know."

"You want to break into his home..." Aberforth realised. "Break into the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

Riddle nodded, "By all accounts a place even more heavily guarded than the Ministry of Magic itself. It would be impossible to infiltrate without someone skilled, someone with close knowledge of Albus' magic. Someone like you, Aberforth."

* * *

"Aberforth! It's been an age and a half since you've been here! Shouldn't you be a the cemetery? Kendra's funer-" there was a stunned pause then the voice rose several octaves for the cry of, "Harry Potter! Harry! Oh dear, we were all so worried about you! By Merlin's clenched cheeks! Where have you been?"

"Professor Dumbledore found me, er..." Harry tried to rack his brain for the name of the witch, the solitary guard currently stationed at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, but he couldn't remember.

"Oh, goodness! Well we need to contact Dumbledo- er… Albus!" then the witch frowned slightly.

"I think it is best not to disturb him right now." Aberforth suggested, there was a pained look in his eyes as he imagined the funeral that was taking place on the other side of the village. "Harry isn't going anywhere and Albus needs to make peace with Kendra's death."

The witch chewed her lip and nodded hesitantly. "I suppose you're right."

"Why don't we sit down?" Aberforth suggested and they moved down the hallway and into the room where Harry had overheard Moody speaking with Gideon some months before. When the witch turned her back, speaking of tea and a nice warm meal, Aberforth discreetly took out his wand and waved it languidly in the air before making it disappear again.

"I'll just- oh dear…" the witch gave a wide yawn which she quickly covered with her hand. "Goodness. I think the last few days are catching up to me..."

"It's been a trying week for us all." Aberforth said gravely. "Have a seat, I shall take Harry to the kitchen and get him a cup of tea myself."

"No, I-" the witch yawned again, eyes blinking sleepily. "House elves..."

"Yes, we will ask them..." Aberforth supplied in a soothing voice. "Don't you worry now..."

The witch gave a soft incoherent reply before she started breathing slowly, punctuated by a little snore now and again. Harry moved to follow Aberforth out of the room. After closing the door shut, Aberforth called out four names and even before Harry heard the pops of the house elves appearing before them, the elderly wizard moved with efficient speed, stunning the lot before they even realised what was happening.

He gave the unconscious house elves a brief apologetic look before turning his wand at the front door. It swung open and an unfamiliar man stood there. He tried to take a step inside the house, before pausing and cocking his head at Aberforth. For a moment he only stared back at the stranger, but he eventually waved his wand, making the door frame glow briefly.

"You have my wand." Tom Riddle, disguised by Transfiguration spells, said quietly as he entered the building. "Because I trust you to see this through."

Aberforth gave a terse nod before stalking down the hallway towards the stairs. They climbed in silence until they reached the third floor. Harry cleared his throat, "Here. This was the only place that I had trouble exploring while I stayed here."

Aberforth produced his wand and slowly traced it in the air. He muttered something under his breath and gave his wand a little flick. Harry didn't see anything change, but he felt it. Aberforth gave a satisfied nod, "We move forwards."

They walked past several doors, giving them little attention other than a quick press of a wand, or brush of fingers in Riddle's case. They eventually reached a door that Harry knew was the right one, even before the two former Professors could examine it with their magic.

"Do you recognise the spell?" Riddle asked.

"Vaguely… A few more than others..." Aberforth muttered. He lightly tapped the four corners of the great, sturdy looking wooden door. Each tap released a vibrating hum that Harry could feel even standing several feet away. "There is layer upon layer of magic here. Whatever is inside, my brother does not want anyone to see."

"Can you get us inside?" Harry asked.

"I think I could, Harry." Aberforth said distractedly as he continued to trace his wand over the dark wood. "But there is a problem. The magic needs to be dispelled all at once, otherwise Albus will immediately know what is happening. He will be back even before we have a chance to search whatever lies beyond..."

"That is not an option." Riddle said grimly.

Aberforth lowered his wand and slowly turned to Riddle. "I suppose this is where I have to decide whether I can really trust you..."

By the look of pain in Aberforth's eyes, Harry could tell he was once again thinking about his niece. With a heavy sigh, he pulled out another wand from his robes and wordlessly handed it over to Tom Riddle. He gave a grateful nod, "Thank you, Aberforth."

He merely grunted in reply and turned his attention back to the obstacle. They spoke quietly to each other, Harry was certain it was in English, but he had absolutely no clue as to what they were actually saying.

"Are you ready, Riddle?" Aberforth finally asked.

"Harry, stand back." Riddle nodded and crouched slightly, his wand level with a little hole in the centre of the door.

Then they began chanting in unison. It definitely wasn't in English this time and Harry was sure it wasn't in Latin either. A fine mist began to emerge from the tips of their wands and it spread over the door, finding little slits and cracks and embedding itself into those tiny spaces.

They stopped, paused for breath and began anew. This time the incantations clashed horribly, as they summoned different spells in completely different languages. Aberforth spoke with a strong continuous Latin, while Riddle let out a quiet song like hiss that Harry instantly recognised as Parseltongue. Amongst the two discordant voices, Harry managed to catch a few words, such as ' _open_ ', ' _break_ ' and _'prise'_.

Another thin wisp of smoke, this time green, came out of Professor Riddle's wand, which coiled tightly and forked at the end, like a flickering serpent's tongue. It darted inside the hole and there was a shuddering pulse, which pushed Harry back an inch. Robes shook and fluttered, but the two wizards themselves remained unmoved. With a harsh bark, flames erupted from Aberforth's wand and connected with the hovering mist, reacting with a faint orange glow. The wood was creaking and groaning and it let out another repelling wave, this time strong enough to almost knock Harry onto the ground.

Suddenly, there was the sound of splintering wood, but it was as loud as lightning striking a great tree, and just as bright. As quickly as the noise and the flash had come, they disappeared just as fast. When Harry looked up, despite all the dramatic effects, the door remained standing, looking as sturdy as ever. It hadn't worked.

Both of the former professors stepped back as they lowered their wands. They turned to Harry and he was relived to find them both smiling contentedly. Professor Riddle looked especially pleased, "We're in."

Harry let out a breath of relief, "Thank Merlin… I thought-"

Harry froze. He wasn't sure what it was he was seeing. It was a single flake, a single splinter that lifted away from the wood and quivered slightly in the air. He lifted his wand quickly and bellowed, " _Protego!_ "

The two men jumped back, their eyes wide, quickly turning back to face the door. It shattered into thousands upon thousands of tiny needles which crashed against the barrier that Harry had only just created in time. Harry's arm shook with effort and sweat trickled down his face, but within a second, before either of the other two could react, it was already over.

Harry slumped slightly, that single spell had left him drained, but he grinned at the fierce look of pride on the two faces of the men that had a hand in teaching him during his time at Hogwarts.

"I take back what I have said about it being too dangerous for you to come with us." Professor Riddle smiled.

"Indeed." Professor Dumbledore agreed. "You've always had a talent for Defence and it seems your time away from the school hasn't dampened any of it."

"Remus." Riddle said as he pulled out a mirror from his pocket. "Did anything happen just now?"

Harry went cold as he remembered what Aberforth had said about the spells blocking their way. There was a pause and Remus' voice came clearly through, "No. Dumbledore, Albus I mean, is still sitting here."

"Good. Keep watch. Alert us if anything happens." Riddle said as he put the mirror away. "Looks like that last spell wasn't interwoven with the rest."

"That is why we could not detect it." Aberforth hummed in thought, "A final trap should everything else be dispelled. To go to such lengths to hide whatever is inside..."

After exchanging a look with the other two, he entered with his wand carefully raised in front of him. Riddle followed behind him in a similar stance and Harry did so as well, although he felt slightly silly for doing so. It wasn't as if he would be able to detect another trap like the two wizards could, but should the need arise, he was more than capable of another Shield Charm.

They entered a simple office. There were shelves full of books, papers and little trinkets, none of which were giving off any malicious or evil vibes. At the centre of the room was a desk, large enough to seat a dozen people or more, which was also littered with stacks of parchment. There was also a smaller writing desk to the side, which had quills and ink pots carefully arranged at the back. Other than that, there were several boxes and chests or varying sizes and material around the room.

Aberforth eventually lowered his wand, "I do not think Albus has used protective charms within this room. I suppose he thought that no one would be able to enter."

"It was certainly difficult enough." Riddle snorted lightly as he tapped himself with his wand, Transfiguring himself back. "Well then, shall we have a look around?"

Aberforth went towards the smaller desk while Riddle went for the large table in the middle. Harry was drawn towards one of the bookcases. There was, unfortunately, no book titled 'My Struggles of Trying to Take Over Europe' or the sequel 'My Struggles of Trying to Take Over the World', but there was practically everything else. Thick tomes ranging in subjects from Transfiguration to war tactics, books about magical beasts and plants to even the Occlumentic Arts that Snape had attempted to teach Harry earlier this year.

Harry pulled out a very dry looking book titled ' _Thaumaturgic Theory and Tradition_ ' and flicked through the pages, not really looking at the words but hoping for an incriminating letter to fall out or something. With a disappointed sigh, he returned the book back in its place and turned his attention to another shelf, which had fewer books and more strange objects.

He had no idea what any of them were, they were made of varying combinations of glass, wood, stone and metal, and looked completely unlike anything Harry had seen before, as well as completely unique from each other as well. They smoked and shimmered and shivered, all different and all completely entrancing to watch. As much as he wanted to, he didn't dare touch anything, not without knowing what they would do.

He sucked in a quiet breath when his eyes came across something that he did actually recognise. That familiarity of it was what made him carefully extend his fingers and wrap them around it.

He heard a single heartbeat, perhaps his own, and then he felt lightheaded. Then he felt fine, better than fine actually. It almost felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He stared down at the little bottle that was nestled in his hand as he tried to gather his thoughts.

It was nothing at all like the Nullificare Charm that he was burdened with during the summers, those gave off a feeling of oppression, making his limbs feel heavy and calming him to a point of unfeeling. It wasn't at all like the one that he and his friends had stolen from Filch the caretaker during his second year, with the giddy burst of energy that almost made his finger itch with a desire for. Almost. Maybe it was the other one, the Affirmare Charm, like the one Ron's Uncle Gideon used-

"Harry!" Riddle's sharp voice caused Harry to look up. "Put that down."

He quickly followed the instruction and took a step back, shaking his head when he felt a slight twinge in his head that disappeared just as quickly. "I'm okay. It's not… anything I've felt before… It didn't really do anything, I don't think..."

Harry stepped back so that Riddle could lean over and examine it. Looking at it now, it looked older, somehow cruder than the ones that Harry had seen before. Riddle gave it a sharp poke with his wand and made a sound of irritation, "So much secrecy in these…"

"What is it?" Aberforth walked over to them. When he saw the bottle, he gave them a strange look. "That is not what we came here to look for. We must hurry before my brother returns."

Riddle returned it to the shelf with a carefully blank expression, but Harry knew what he was thinking about. The bottle caught in the photograph, during his third year. One that Kendra Dumbledore was helping them to investigate. There was no reason to think that this one was the very same one in the photo, but it seemed strange to find one in Dumbledore's hidden office.

Harry turned away before he was tempted to touch it again and crouched onto the floor and carefully opened one of the many chests. They all disappointingly contained very little of interest. He felt a tingle of hopeful excitement when he saw the words 'Ministry of Magic' printed at the top of a stack of papers he found, but it had absolutely nothing to do with whatever Dumbledore was up to now. The dates went as far back as twenty years ago. There was absolutely nothing concerning Muggles.

He sighed in frustration as he opened the next box, a slightly sturdier looking one made of metal, it contained more paper. These didn't have the Ministry logo at the top, and didn't contain the dry interdepartmental memos of bureaucracy in action. They were written in a tight, concise script that reminded him of Hermione's handwriting. Most of these papers were bound together in little bunches by some string, like handmade books or leaflets. He glanced at one, titled 'Imo Vix Cogitari Possit' and shoved it aside, then picked up another one, which was thankfully in English.

"The Nature of Prophecy..." Harry muttered the title. Although it wasn't what they had come here to find, it was something that was often enough on Harry's mind. It was like reading a textbook, and a terribly boring one at that. He recognised a few words and phrases from when he attempted to learn more about prophecies when he overheard his own during his time at Durmstrang, but if the text was telling him anything new, he certainly couldn't tell.

"There is nothing here." even though softly spoken, Aberforth's voice startled Harry. He dropped what he was reading and stood up. "Riddle, I think you were mistaken about my brother..."

Tom Riddle didn't respond. He was still staring down at the table filling the centre of the room. He picked up a roll of parchment gave it a quick look and dropped it onto the floor. The he used his arm to fling down everything else that was on top of it. Harry thought for a moment it was done in frustration, but Riddle crouched onto the ground until his eyes were level with the surface of the table.

Riddle slowly raised his wand and tapped it lightly, " _Revelio_."

For a second it looked as if nothing was happening, but then the surface of the table rippled. It was like a still lake that had been disturbed by a stone throw, and as the little wave spread from the centre, it grew to form shapes of landmasses and oceans.

Aberforth let out a little noise, it sounded a mixture of disappointment and relief. "There is nothing incriminating here. This map… there is one identical to it in one of the meeting rooms downstairs."

He pulled out his wand and aimed it towards somewhere in Eastern Europe. There was another ripple, the continent and sea were swallowed back into the wood and then sprouted up again, this time revealing more details such as mountains, cities, rivers and forests. There was also a small dot that was softly blinking red. "What is that?"

Aberforth frowned, "That indicates there is an attack happening there..."

"Zeugen?" Riddle asked sharply. "I am not familiar with this area, where is this?"

"No… something isn't right..." Aberforth muttered to himself. He flicked his wand at the table-map and it shifted once again to a different location. Then another. Then another.

Riddle, who had been looking slightly worried at the mention of an attack, soon grew confused. "Here… I recognise… and this place was well… these were all the places that were attacked on-"

He stopped speaking and his eyes darted a quick glance at Harry. "When?"

"These were all the places that came under attack on Halloween of 1981… the day your parents were killed…" Aberforth said sadly.

"Aberforth." Riddle spared a quick look of sympathy for Harry, but he was preoccupied with a thought, "Can you make the locations of the attacks show up on the first map, the one of the whole continent?"

Aberforth nodded and silently followed the request. With Europe sprawling on the table, he gave another soft flick and about two dozen or so softly blinking red dots appeared on the map. He drew in a sharp breath, "Some of these locations..."

"That day… you left the day before and asked me to cover some of your lessons." Aberforth nodded mutely at Riddle's questions. "Did the Order know these attacks were about to take place?"

"No. At least, not at first. And not all of these..." Aberforth closed his eyes in thought. "We were gathered that day intending to assault and break Nurmengard..."

"Nurmengard?" Harry asked.

"It was… and still is, I suppose, a prison and a fortress first used by Grindelwald and now used to hold his followers and some of the nastier criminals." Riddle explained. "During the later years of the wars, it was the heart of Grindelwald's forces and was considered an impossibility to breach."

"It was an attack that had been in plan for weeks..." Aberforth said. "Word of some of these other attacks came when it was too late for us to pull out. Order members were dispatched to some of them, but we had to rely mostly on Aurors and others who were willing to fight, to hold back Grindelwald's assault. As terrible as it was… I can not deny the fact that these last minute attacks worked to our advantage. Nurmengard itself was less guarded than it normally was… had all of Grindelwald's Witnesses gathered to defend the place, I doubt victory would have come so easily."

"Quite a coincidence then..." Riddle remarked, clearly indicating he didn't think it was a coincidence.

Aberforth sent him a sharp look, "This proves nothing. He-"

Riddle pointed his finger at one of the marks locating an attack, "Paris. The French Ministry itself was attacked, with one of the highest number of casualties of wizards and witches in modern history. With Aurors being sent to deal with troubles across the country with information to have come from the Order, they were practically defenceless. At that time, they were also the most vocal with the desire to pull back some of the power away from the European Ministry back into their own hands. Those talks died, along with their speakers, on that day."

Aberforth's face grew stony. He flicked his wand sharply and the map twisted again. This time, when it grew, it bulged upwards, blooming with colours of grey and black as it did so. The highest point was almost the same height as Harry's head as he stood to watch in awe. "Months, it took months to gather information on Nurmengard. Months and more than a few lives. We had planned for the worst, knowing that it had to be done. We were-"

Harry half listened to the strong words being sent back and forth between the two wizards, but he couldn't take his eyes off the huge looming black-stoned structure that was Nurmengard.

"-ever question how Albus even obtained some of his information about these-"

It reminded Harry of the Dwarven structures he had briefly glimpsed while he watched the second Triwizard task last year. But unlike those that were quite understated and cosy, Nurmengard was an unnatural looking scar upon the cliff and sky. It was grim and forbidding, blacker than black, like the eyes of the Witnesses, against the grey mountainside it jutted out of.

"-am his brother does not mean I am privy to every bit of information concerning-"

Looking closely, Harry could make out a few details. There were turrets and spires, tiny but menacing gargoyles that gave little signs of movement, like wizarding chess pieces.

"-of those locations that had no warning? Those places that were left to fend-"

At the base of the cliff was a huge gate of gleaming obsidian. It was tightly shut and even looking at the scale model in front of him gave Harry an impression of its impregnability. Harry completely understood why Riddle had said it was considered impossible to breach. Even Durmstrang Institute, which looked less like a school and more like a defensive castle, would look positively friendly next to this monstrosity.

"-obviously added to the map after it had happened! We do not know when Albus-"

Harry's eyes slid up the sleek black walls and reached the highest part of the structure. Like the cruel horn of some beast, it stabbed the air giving off a feeling of menace. From that little tower in the sky, one would probably be able to see around for miles. No. From wherever in that fortress Grindelwald, the King of Crows, would reside, he would be able to see all the way across the continent, through his black eyed fanatics.

"-ought, Aberforth, that you came here with an open mind, not to blind yourself when-"

And as if to represent this fact, there was something on that uppermost tower. It was barely visible, a little gem like object that blended seamlessly with the rest of the black rock. But now end again, it gave a faint red glow like the dying embers of a fire. Almost like a faintly glowing eye...

"-Riddle! You are so determined to see my brother guilty of this, that you will not ever consider the possibi-"

Harry reached out slowly, extending a finger and lightly touched the spot.

"Shi-" Harry managed to say, when he felt an all too familiar tugging on his naval.

If he never touched a Portkey ever again, he would be perfectly happy with it.

He stumbled and fell, rolled once and had his wand trained in front of himself. He quickly stood, spinning on the spot, but there was no one behind him either. With his heart thudding, he looked around but the room was completely empty. It was a room that looked almost identical to the one he had just departed from, with the same furniture down to the huge table in the centre that would probably sprawl into a map once activated. The books and the objects on the shelves and desk were slightly different though, and when he tried to locate the door, he found that there wasn't one. The room was completely walled in. There was just a window behind the desk that only showed a bluish grey sky from where he was standing.

Harry tentatively slid a finger across the table to find a thick layer of dust had gathered. Wherever he was, it was obvious no one had been here in a very long time. " _Revelio._ "

Like it had done for Professor Riddle, Europe appeared before him, but however many flicks, swishes and jabbing motions he made at the map, it refused to change for him. He didn't feel like he was in any danger, at least for now, but he hoped that the two he left behind would be able to work out what had happened.

He stepped around the table and went for the desk, to have a look out the window, but something caught his eyes. He carefully picked it up.

"Harry!" the boy turned slightly at the panicked cry from Riddle. After giving Harry a quick look to make sure he was unharmed, they did what Harry did on his first arrival, and scanned the room for some hidden dangers. "Merlin, you gave us quite a fright..."

They both walked towards Harry, Riddle giving his shoulders a quick squeeze. Aberforth paled as he peered out of the window. "This is…"

"This is Nurmengard." Riddle said with grim triumph in his voice.

"...A prison. It is a prison used by the European Ministry. That must be why-" Aberforth's hoarse voice cut off as he looked down to what Harry had in his hand. "Th..this..."

Aberforth reached for it and took it into his shaking hands. His gaze bore holes into the photograph of two young men standing side by side, looking confident, content and with a slight sense of affection towards each other. A little bit behind them was a young witch, with a gleeful expression on her face. She had a wand in one hand and she pointed it towards some unblossomed flowers near her feet and in an instant, they bloomed vibrant, much to the child-like delight of the witch that had caused it.

Harry knew, even before Aberforth Dumbledore said anything, who the people in the photograph were.

"Albus..." Aberforth said heavily. "What have you done..."

* * *

 **A/N**

Sorry this is late. It's been a bit of a rough week. There is going to be two more chapters for Year 5 and one has been written and beta-ed by the wonderful Lord Shasta - thank you and sorry for forgetting to mention you again and again - and I'm still in the process of writing the next one. I want to make sure I finish writing both before I update so I'm sorry to have to say that the next chapter will be a week or two late. Sorry again, and I wish you all the best until then.


	55. Year 5 - Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 **True Colours**

"It is done." Aberforth said with only a slight tremor in his otherwise hard voice.

Scrimgeour responded with a curt nod before turning towards the dozen or so wizards and witches that had arrived along with him. They were all wearing grim expressions, occasionally sending one of sympathy towards Aberforth, mistrust towards Riddle and slight confusion when they watched Harry speaking quietly with Sirius Black, their former colleague.

Riddle ignored these looks and took out the communication mirror. "Remus, the message has been sent. Albus will receive it soon. Keep watching him and alert us if he makes a move to return to the Order Headquarters."

"Understood, Professor Riddle." Remus said and the connection cut off.

"It's not likely he would, right? Check the headquarters before coming here I mean..." Harry asked as he looked around the quiet countryside surrounding Aberforth's cottage.

"Albus would undoubtedly want to know the whereabouts of either one of us. If his brother claims that he knows where we both are, while implying the urgency of the matter, I see no reason why he wouldn't come here immediately." Riddle said calmly. Like the calm before a storm.

"I know everything is going according to plan, but I still can't believe how easily everything seems to be working out." there was more than a hint of bitterness in Sirius' voice as he glared at Scrimgeour quietly issuing orders to the Aurors, all of whom Sirius was familiar with.

"When you have a former Auror who mentored the head of the department, make these accusations of his own brother, it is something not so easily dismissed." Riddle glanced at Aberforth, who remained frozen on the spot staring blankly into the distance. "And once we had Scrimgeour's attention, there was more than enough evidence in that room in Nurmengard to light the fires under his feet..."

The moment Aberforth had seen that photograph, all doubt seemed to leave him at once. Harry had managed to guess the identity of the witch in the background as a Dumbledore by noticing slight similarities between her and Kendra and she was indeed Ariana, the sister of Albus and Aberforth.

Albus and Grindelwald were harder to place at first, until he looked into their eyes. Albus still had those piercing eyes, but in his youth they were much kinder, softer. A slight mischievousness rather than the sly cunning Harry noticed in the elderly wizard in his later years. Gellert Grindelwald was smiling. It was a perfectly bland smile that told you nothing of the emotions going through the mind of the wearer. His eyes were like two glass orbs, holding neither warmth nor cold. They were closed off, never betraying the darkness lurking behind them, not for a single moment.

It was obvious when the moment had been captured. From the fact that Ariana held a wand and was practising magic with relative ease, the photo could only have been taken after Albus had created the first Nullificare Charm. A time, according to Aberforth, long after he should have already parted ways with Grindelwald. It was a photo that shouldn't have existed had everything Albus told his brother, and the rest of the wizarding world, had been true.

And the photograph was just the tip of the iceberg.

The room, which they quickly concluded had been Grindelwald's counterpart to Albus Dumbledore's own study, held much more damning evidence. Much of it was old, around fifteen years old to be exact. Like the tactical map of Europe in Albus' office, it was frozen in time with the most recent information being from the day of the attack on Halloween. A chilling message that was essentially a signed death warrant for the Potters and plans to launch assaults across the rest of Europe, while also leaving Nurmengard open for attack.

According to the scribbled notes and long rolls of parchment they discovered, it seemed that Albus Dumbledore himself had little to do with actually directing the Witnesses himself. It made sense, according to Riddle, since Grindelwald was far less discriminating towards the soldiers that had rallied to his cause and the numbers would have made it extremely difficult to keep it hidden the collusion of who was supposed to be their greatest enemy. It made sense that this secret would have only been revealed to a very select few of the most loyal and powerful amongst the Zeugen.

However, there were notes of clinical discussions between the two wizards about steps that needed to be taken, all 'for the greater good'. The Potters weren't the only ones marked for death, there were a great number of names that Harry didn't recognise and a few that Harry did. A vast number of them seemed to be their political obstacles. Witches and wizards who would oppose the formation of the European Ministry or those that were hungry for their own power and might prove a distraction down the line. The worst were the deaths they required for Albus Dumbledore to cement his place as a political powerhouse, which seemed to be their ultimate goal.

Harry's stomach churned as he read an almost carelessly scrawled out note, outlining the plans to get the Longbottom family under their wing. It briefly considered whether it would be more efficient to kill Frank or Alice, the father or mother of the Longbottom boy in Harry's own year, and whether it would be better or not for Neville himself to survive. The sickening conclusion was to kill Alice, and to keep Neville alive since 'F. Longbottom may fall in battle and it may be useful to keep the boy in case there is a lack of another heir'.

Tom Riddle was also discussed extensively, mostly in negative terms but Harry could sense a slight tone of respect from Grindelwald's handwriting. Tom Riddle was still far beneath the level of the two puppetmasters, but something more than the rest of the pawns that littered their chessboard called Europe. There was far more about Tom Riddle than there was of the Longbottoms, detailed accounts of his exploits that made Harry's mouth drop open with awe and little side notes saying how it was disrupting their plans. It turned out that they had, on more than one occasion, made plans to kill the man that would later become the Headmaster of Hogwarts, before suddenly coming up with the idea that he may come in use.

Tom Riddle, last of the bloodline of Salazar Slytherin, was to be kept alive to be used as a possible scapegoat for something, anything, should the need arise. Like they had done this past year. Albus Dumbledore was to do all he can to try and keep him from gaining too much power, too much popularity, and from the shadows they would whisper that the heir of Slytherin was not to be trusted. It was truly a testament to Tom Riddle, how much he was able to accomplish while he had these hidden enemies working against him all his career.

There was even a note that had Professor Riddle choke up with emotion. An innocent looking piece of parchment that almost resembled something that would be passed between students during a particularly tedious lesson.

 _You kept her alive?_

 _Yes._

 _That was not the plan. No witnesses, remember?_

 _I am sorry, Gellert._

 _If I had to guess, I suppose she reminded you too much of Ariana?_

 _She will be of no trouble._

 _And the boy?_

 _A promising student. But a strange boy. A strange Slytherin, I should say._

 _But he knows nothing? And you are sure there is no chance Merope Gaunt can identify you as the wizard in the house that day?_

 _None. She was never trained, she is possibly even a Squib. She had never done magic before Tom received his letter, and even now he does not ever see her do so when he returns for the holidays and summer. There is not even the remote possibility she could have seen through my Transfiguration._

 _I see. I trust your judgement Albus._

 _If it is any consolation, I doubt she will live for much longer. I would be surprised if she is still alive by the time Tom graduates from Hogwarts._

 _You are still far too soft, Albus!_

 _I shall leave the villainy to you, Gellert._

It took Tom Riddle a while to recover after reading this callous exchange concerning his mother. There was a bitter, yet absolved expression when he handed it over to Aberforth and Harry to read themselves.

It was the final straw that enkindled the flames behind Aberforth's eyes, burning away any lingering doubt about his brother's true colours. It was what pushed them all into action.

They had to act quickly before the funeral ended and Albus returned to find his sanctuary breached. Aberforth hurried to contact Scrimgeour. While it took some time to get the Head of the Auror Office up to speed, with all the evidence laid out before him, he didn't hesitate to act. It probably helped that the man was not a fan of Albus Dumbledore to begin with, but he was willing to turn a blind eye to some major breech of protocol that would normally have been involved when attempting to arrest such a prominent figure. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who they knew was firmly in Dumbledore's pockets, was kept completely in the dark.

He called in all the Aurors he could trust without a shadow of a doubt. Anyone with even a hinted connection to Albus obviously needed to be kept far away. When they all arrived in front of Aberforth's cottage, they all, as one, aimed their wands at Professor Riddle, only to lower it just as quickly at a short bark from Scrimgeour. Even though he wasn't given an explanation for Riddle's actions of the previous summer, they certainly couldn't risk a man like that knowing the details of the prophecy, it only took a short talk from Aberforth to convince him that Riddle could be trusted. He relented much more easily than they had predicted, but then again, taking down Albus Dumbledore must have been a much more immediate concern to him right now.

"The Patronus has arrived." Remus' quiet voice emitted from the object in Riddle's hands.

"Everyone, in positions!" at Riddle's signal, Scrimgeour roared and his Aurors sprang into action, dispersing in an approximate circle, Disillusioning themselves as they did so.

Riddle ushered Harry into the cottage. "Stay under the cloak. You are not to come out under any circumstances."

"Even if-"

"Even if he kills us all and escapes." Riddle's face was set in stone. "Am I understood?"

Harry nodded and mumbled that he understood. He had already heard several times from the Aurors, and Scrimgeour and Aberforth and Professor Riddle (but not Sirius) that it was an incredibly foolish risk for him to be here. But he wanted to see Albus Dumbledore taken down. He wanted to watch them arrest the man who was instrumental in the death of his parents, as well as many, many more. As much as he wanted to be directly involved, he was under no illusion that he would be of any help against supposedly the most powerful wizard currently alive. And Harry had the impression that some of the Aurors were having unconscious doubts of a similar sort.

Albus Dumbledore was, hopefully, coming alone. On their side they had fifteen wands, including Tom Riddle and Aberforth Dumbledore, two of the most powerful wizards that Harry knew. Even so, everyone here was far from convinced that this was an assured victory. Harry had heard Scrimgeour mutter that he would have preferred his whole department present, had he been able to trust some not to side with Dumbledore and create a whole panicked mess.

Harry had never seen Albus Dumbledore fight. He hadn't even really seen the extent of Aberforth's powers, given that he never had to unleash his true potential while teaching young boys and girls. The only time he had seen a Dumbledore fight was Kendra last year. Yes, Professor Riddle had been trying his hardest to stop the fight with words rather than magic. Yes, Kendra managed to get her hands on his wand near the start of the fight. And yes, there was also a helpless teenager the Professor had to protect, but still, her magic had been terrifyingly impressive.

It was not merely the strength of her magic, but the cleverness with which it was wielded. It was her last desperate resort that had brought about her downfall. Albus Dumbledore would not make that same mistake. He had decades more worth of power and experience, he had almost a century worth of cunning that kept his vile secret from the rest of the wizarding world.

Harry stared out of the window, catching Professor Riddle respond to something Remus had said through the mirror. Then Harry heard his own mirror shimmer into life, connecting with the one that Riddle was holding, allowing him to listen to everything that was going on. There are a final few words exchanged before everyone disappeared from view with a flick of their wands. Only Aberforth remained visible, his back to Harry. But the boy saw the tension in his shoulders. A slight hunch from all that he had lost, from his already shattered world about to break a little more.

Harry, and everyone else, waited. Waited for what felt like hours. But it was only a minute later that Albus Dumbledore appeared before them. His expression was unreadable, like a crudely carved stone statue.

"Aberforth. You have information about-" Albus froze, his head slowly moving side to side. Careful and wary. He raised the wand he was holding and gave it the barest of flicks and Harry felt a slight tingling sensation over his skin. The old wizard's eyes widened. "Aberforth… What is this? What have you done?"

"No. The question is, brother, what have _you_ done." Aberforth uttered gravely.

Albus' expression did not change, "I do not know-"

"No denials, Albus." Aberforth shook his head tiredly. "We know. We _know_. We searched your office-"

"You broke into-"

"We found the map. We found the Portkey to Nurmengard, to Grindelwald's lair. We found everything. We found..." Aberforth's voice wavered. "How _could_ you Albus?"

Albus remained completely still. His face a frozen mask. "I… see… And who have you brought with you, to confront me about this?"

With another sharp flick of his wand, every single Disillusionment Charm was broken at once. The mask slipped and his mouth curled into an angry snarl when he recognised Riddle. He turned slowly on the spot, taking in the position of each and every Auror surrounding him, all grim faced and ready for battle.

Riddle glanced at Aberforth, but realised the man was in no more condition to talk. "It is over, Albus. If you have any shred of good left in you, turn over your wand and surrender."

Albus ignored him and turned to face his brother. "You ally yourself with _him_? The one who murdered Kendra?"

"He did not." Aberforth said simply, unwilling or unable to give any further explanations. "And Kendra… I am glad she died never knowing the truth… had she known… had she known of your-"

"She died attempting to do good." Albus hissed. "Do you know what she discovered? A prophecy that Potter will bring about a war far more damaging than ever before?"

The statement was made and carried across the air before anyone could stop him. Scrimgeour automatically turned towards the cottage where Harry was hidden, "What is he talking about?"

Albus let out a laugh, "So… he is here then?"

"Prophecy is not absolute." Riddle said evenly. "Kendra gave up too soon."

Albus didn't respond. Instead he made a vague motion with his unwanded hand, then blinked several times. Across the distance, his deep blue eyes then met Harry's. "Ah… there you are… Under... an… invisibility cloak..."

At this both Sirius and Riddle readied their wands. Sirius spat out, "You won't touch Harry."

"An invisibility cloak..." Albus repeated. There was something else in his expression now. His gaze was far off, as if he wasn't seeing his enemies standing before him. "His father's cloak..."

Sirius sneered, "You messed up, didn't you? You wanted it and you-"

Albus laughed. A joyous bellow that slowly died away, leaving a slight manic expression in the old wizard's face. "I didn't think… I never… Everything is falling into place..."

There was a savage glee emanating from Albus Dumbledore and it was more than an expression. It was a tangible feeling that made goosebumps rise over Harry's arms, and from the reactions he saw from the Aurors, everyone else was experiencing it too.

Riddle was the first to react. He went rigid, gave his wand a jerk and hissed, " _Sink_."

The smile didn't leave Albus, even when the pit opened beneath him. A sink hole reaching halfway to the centre of the earth, swarming with a legion of serpents instantly coiling around the wizard and swallowing him like quicksand. His eyes gleamed as he disappeared from view.

There was a pause.

Then Harry felt the world tilt.

The ground shook and he was thrown onto the floor. What he heard as he scrambled back onto his feet was a sound of rushing wind. A powerful roar of buffeting waves accompanied by crackles and soft explosions, and the shouts and cries of the people outside. When he reached the windows, he instantly threw his arms over his face, taking a half step away from the fierce heat that assaulted his skin.

There was a pillar of fire on the spot Albus had sunk into the ground. A rushing, twirling, all-consuming torrent and within the centre Harry could see a human shaped shadow. Earth and snakes, scorched to ash, were lifted creating a slowly growing whirlwind that had the Aurors slowly backing away.

"Potter's Cloak of Invisibility! The Resurrection Stone, from the miserable and squalid little Gaunts! The Wand of Destiny! The Deathstick! The Elder Wand..." the flames subsided around him as Albus Dumbledore extended his arm over his head like a statue of a war hero in rapturous victory. "The Deathly Hallows shall be reunited once more!"

He threw his arms to the side and with it the blaze exploded outwards. Five of the Aurors didn't even have a chance to let out a scream before being consumed and burnt to a crisp.

" _Cencri!"_ Riddle cried out and the shimmering, glimmering snake appeared from the folds of his cloak. She coiled tightly in front of him, both unflinching even as the wall of fire shot towards them. The Diamond Skinned Weardwyrm unhinged her jaws and emitted gallons of what looked like liquid diamond. It caught the light from the approaching flames and sparkled brightly as it rose and extended to form an impenetrable wall that instantly drew away the heat from the air.

Riddle ran forwards, stopping for only a second to allow Cencri to slither up his leg and around his shoulder, before plunging through the barrier that shattered at his touch. When the snow like dust settled, Harry saw that three more Aurors lay unmoving on the ground, while two of them were ganging up on their one remaining colleague. Dumbledore was watching on. With a curse that caused a knee to completely twist around and one that blew an arm clean off, one more Auror was down. The two remaining then turned towards Riddle.

"They've been Imperiused!" Scrimgeour barked angrily.

"Sirius! Scrimgeour! Deal with those two!" Riddle shouted and even though the Head of the Auror Office looked slightly offended at being ordered by someone who was still technically a wanted criminal, he launched himself forwards while crying out a spell. Sirius didn't need to be told twice. "Aberforth, you and I face Albus."

And without waiting for a reply, Riddle broke into a smooth run while making a complicated but precise gesture with his wand. He opened his mouth but before anything could come out, Albus let out a cry that was less of an incantation and more of a war cry that lifted Riddle off the ground and threw him back several feet. It wasn't a complicated and deadly spell, it was merely a show of raw power.

Aberforth flicked his wand at Riddle, letting him drop to his feet quickly but softly, and then he aimed his wand at his brother. _"Incarcerous!_ "

Even the simple spell that even Harry could use was remarkable in the hands of a master. A dozens strands of rope, all of varying degrees of thickness and material, flew out from his wand and through the air towards Albus. Riddle, who was back on his feet now, crouched and lay his wand flat on the ground before letting out a low hiss. Two snakes burrowed out of the earth, wrapping themselves around the enemy's legs before being transfigured to resemble thick and gnarled treeroots.

"Brother!" Albus spat at Aberforth, then he traced his wand through the air. The ropes all gathered in a single spot and wove in and out of each other, creating one intricate knot after another, eventually resulting in a shape that looked animal-like. With another flick of his wand it breathed into life, letting out a roar allowing Harry to identify it as a lion. "Teaching has dulled you, brother! Do you think I am one of your students to discipline? You were always weaker, what makes you think it will be any different now? When I hold ultimate power in my hands!"

Riddle and Aberforth were distracted with the creature while Albus shattered the roots that bound his legs.

"The moment you left England, the moment you left with Grindelwald, there was no turning back, was there?" Aberforth's voice held pity. "I remember your obsession with the Hollows… Such a long time ago, but I remember. That was why I believed you when you returned, because you stopped chasing after a myth, a fantasy. 'For the greater good', Albus? What good can ever come from murder? No. Nothing you do is for good, you merely act for your own gain..."

"I have done plenty for our people..." Albus glared defiantly. "The European Minis-"

"The European Ministry is crumbling." Aberforth interrupted. "How could it not when it was founded on manipulation and assassinations?"

Albus shook with a rage that had been long held. "Fools. The world is full of fools who do not know what is good for them. I have hidden enemies working against me, _those_ are the ones who think only of themselves. We had plans… plans that would have brought about a golden age for all wizards and witches… All ruined because of a _child_!"

"Listen to yourself!" Aberforth cried. "Blaming a child for-"

"All that doesn't matter now, don't you see Aberforth?" Albus breathed heavily as his scowl instantly transformed to a horrible grin. "All that I had ever done was for our family. For the pain our parents had endured, for the injustice our sister had suffered… All for naught now that my own brother fights against me... with a filthy little snake by his side."

"It is over Albus." Riddle levelled his wand towards the old wizard and the lion that crouched protectively before him. "Even if we all die and you leave here alive, we have taken steps so the world will know of everything that has happened here. Your words leave no doubt of the crimes you have committed."

Harry tried not to look around to see if he could catch sight of where Tonks was hidden. She was supposed to be in the air on a broomstick and her own invisibility cloak making sure all this was being recorded. She was to approach only after the Disillusionment Charms were dispelled, hopefully when Albus would no longer be searching for another hidden enemy.

Albus laughed as if this revelation wasn't a surprise. "It does _not_ matter, Riddle. Expose me if you wish, all I need is the Hallows in my hands..."

"Madness drives you brother! What could you possibly hope to gain from that?" there was a desperate plea in Aberforth's voice. There was no more logic in Albus' words, only a self-destructive and unrelenting pursuit of an impossibility.

Albus shook his head, "Perhaps... when the time comes you will understand. But no more words now, brother. I must have _POTTER_!"

With another roar the lion charged, with Albus Dumbledore throwing out spells, not towards Riddle and his brother, but towards his own Transfigured creature. The ropes of fibre and metal twisted and shivered, turning into bone and flesh. It rapidly swelled in size while its beast like head turned vaguely human and a great tail sprouted from its back curling forwards, ending in a sharp barb like a scorpion's.

Sirius and Scrimgeour joined them, having incapacitated the two Aurors under Albus Dumbledore's control.

"-Manticore-"

"-tail, destroy the bloody-"

And in that moment of distraction Albus pointed his wand in the air and muttered an incantation with a look of great concentration on his face. A purple light erupted from the tip of his wand and-

"He's removed the Anti-Disapparition Jinx!" Sirius exclaimed, paused for breath, then he turned and hollered at the top of his lungs, "Harry, if you haven't already gone, use the bloody Portkey and-"

" _Ligetung ond þunor!_ " Aberforth roared. There was a crackle, the grind of huge boulders being crushed and then a single clap, as loud as if two dozen Hagrid sized figures had swatted a fly between their palms right next to Harry's ear. There was an impossibly bright flash of light that jagged towards Albus quicker than Harry could follow with his eyes.

Albus was on his knees, with a large chunk of his shoulder missing. He turned his head slightly to look at his conjured beast which was being bound and disabled by Riddle and the others, then back towards his brother who was approaching him with a thunderous expression. He was still holding his wand, but he didn't raise it as he stood on trembling legs, his breathing shallow and sweat breaking out from the pain. He took a step back. "I did not think you had it in you, little brother."

"Just stop, Albus. Brother." Aberforth said tiredly, but his wand was still trained and ready to unleash another deadly attack if needed. "Just stop. Please."

Albus ignored him and took another step back, chuckling hoarsely as the others joined his brother's side, looking worse for wear, but all ready with their wands. Another ward was raised to block Apparition and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Albus didn't seem to notice or care. "And so, what am I to do, now that you know everything? Am I to be paraded around as a monster you have captured? Are you to be the knights in shining armour that has stopped the fell beast? A hero of the people? I can certainly envisage you doing that, Rufus, you always had an ambitious streak in you."

Riddle silenced Scrimgeour with a raised hand. "No. Nobody will know. In your grief you decide to retire from politics and lead a solitary life away from the rest of the world. That is what we tell everyone, while you aid us in dismantling the Witnesses you have created."

"That _I_ have created?" Albus laughed, continuing his steps. "Maybe so… but if I had any control over them, do you think I would have let them be all this time? Gellert was far less discriminating in who he allowed to fight in his name. The crow has grown far too many heads, laid far too many eggs to be controllable."

"We have a confession." Sirius stated. "He said-"

"He lied, whoever it was." Albus stopped moving as he reached the edge of the large gaping hole in the earth, the now empty pit of snakes that still held a bonfire of intense white heat. The flames licked the hem of his robes, incinerating them in an instant. "In the past year, no, ever since Gellert's death I have worked my hardest to eradicate the Zeugen. _That_ was our plan, to stop this pantomime of a war and solidify my position when _I_ , not Potter, was to defeat him with the world watching. It should have been me that the world saw as a saviour, not a toddler who couldn't even speak!"

Riddle shook his head slowly, "Do not pretend you became some sort of paragon of virtue after his death. The kidnappings, the murders and manipulations you had carried out in the Muggle world-"

"They were not carried out under my orders. I never knew that they were committing such atrocities until the things we found last year. Such things never happened when Gellert still had control over them, it would have never happened if I had any control over them. Whatever you think of me, you can not believe that I would have allowed such torture of children." Harry frowned at Albus' words, they didn't make sense. No. He was lying, he must be lying. "As for what I am doing with the Muggles… we discussed it, but I could only start to make my move recently. There was too much chaos and confusion with the Zeugen still out there after Gellert's death. It took me until now to find the opportunity… much too late, now it seems..."

Harry could see from the distance that Riddle and Sirius were exchanging uneasy glances. Riddle gave a little shake and said firmly, "You will come with us, surrender your wand, and tell us everything. Everything you know, everything you have done. If you are being truthful in wanting Grindelwald's remnants stopped, then-"

Albus' laughter cut him off. "Oh no. No, no, no… I have no interest in helping you Riddle. Or being locked in a dark hole for the rest of my life. I suppose Azkaban is out of the question if you are not intending to reveal any of this to the public… but I am confident you can find me a place just as dank and miserable as that place. It is not a place I ever intend to step into..."

"Albus! Stop!" Aberforth cried in horror as his brother stood with one foot hovering over the edge. Even in that uncomfortable position, he managed to flick his wand back and forth, countering all the spells launched his way. Even as his limb caught fire, destroying the leather of his shoe and scorching his skin black, he gave a manic grin. And then he leaned back.

"NO!" Riddle ran forth, but even his last attempts at spells were blocked by the old wizard as he slowly fell into the pit burning like the gates to hell. Breathing heavily he looked over the edge, then he turned his gaze towards the sky. A flash of realisation came across his face a second too late. "HARRY! PORTKEY! NOW!"

Harry heard a faint pop and he turned around, the word already coming out of his mouth, "Home!"

He saw Albus Dumbledore raise his wand just as he felt the tugging on his navel. Then he felt a long, drawn out pain as he felt something attempt to drag him in the opposite direction. It didn't completely stop the magic of the Portkey from working though and the blur of colours told Harry that he was moving away from the scene of carnage.

Harry heard a loud crash, which he immediately realised was caused by his own landing, when he felt the effects of hurtling at high speed into sturdy wooden furniture.

"Harry? What? Dumbled-"

Harry jerked his head up just in time to see Remus thrown across the room and smash into a wall with a sickening crunch. The werewolf fell with a soft thud and remained still.

"Remuses sir! Harry Potter si-"

Harry scrambled onto his feet and turned towards the sound of Dobby's voice. His little arms were extended as if he was just about to showcase some of his surprisingly powerful house elf magic, but then he swayed on the spot and collapsed face first onto the ground.

There was a soft footstep and Harry immediately spun around, " _Confrin-_ "

The wand jerked out of his hand and landed neatly in Dumbledore's own. Without a word he limped towards Harry, one foot a black stump but the rest of his body largely unscathed. The boy stumbled back, but Dumbledore was fast. Harry's wrist was caught in an iron grip and just as he threw a punch aimed for the old man's face, they Disapparated away.

Disorientation and nausea overtook his other senses. He lashed out blindly as he tried to blink his vision clear, but a softly spoken incantation had him flying backwards, until he felt something hard against his spine. He bit his lips and refused to cry out in pain. He just glared at the approaching wizard.

"I will get what I want, Potter." Albus said softly. "Two birds with one stone, I dare say..."

And with these words, Harry thought he heard the fluttering of wings and a soft cry of a crow. He looked around at the small copse of trees they seemed to be in, he looked up at the branches, but he didn't see anything. He looked down at the tight ropes that bound him to something, presumably another tree. Then he looked up at the man only standing a few feet away from him.

You've lost. Everyone will know- " _I will kill you slowly and painfully, Albus Dumbledore._ " -find me here. Professor Riddle will come for me.

Harry blinked. What had he just said?

Albus Dumbledore's eyes widened a fraction and then he laughed. As Harry opened his mouth to speak again, Dumbledore flicked his wand at the boy and everything went dark.

* * *

"-research is sound. Her-"

"-purely theoretical. Obviously the Hallows-"

"I have them in my possession..."

Harry was dragged back into consciousness by the sound of voices.

"-Potter, is this-"

He blinked and shook his head. Albus Dumbledore was there and there was another person with him. Harry didn't recognise him. It was a thin and timid looking man with thick square glasses perched on top of his nose. He glanced at Harry, licked his lips and quickly looked away.

"You know of the prophecy? I know that Kendra discussed her theory with you." Dumbledore asked the thin man.

He pushed up his glasses nervously, glanced at Harry again, and slowly nodded. "The Potter boy will have many deaths on his hands."

"Then we are in agreement. We do what we must." Dumbledore said stonily.

The man chewed his lip before asking, "You know what to do?"

The old wizard nodded in response and stepped away. The bespectacled man shuffled over towards Harry, looked him up and down with a blank expression then stood behind him, out of view. Dumbledore produced his wand and started waving it, tracing complex shapes in the air while murmuring a soft tune. It was melodic and beautiful, Harry couldn't believe a man like Dumbledore could produce such a sound.

Whatever was happening, Harry knew it wouldn't be good and tried to interrupt, shout and scream as loud as he can. He drew in a deep breath but there was a soft murmur from behind him and when Harry tried to expel the air from his lungs with all the noise he could muster, not even a squeak escaped his lips. So he watched, in silence, as Albus Dumbledore continued to incant the spell, like a conductor instructing an invisible orchestra.

Finally, a lick of reddish orange flame appeared at the tip of his wand. Dumbledore's voice gathered strength as he moved his wrists, almost as if he was trying to flick the slowly growing fire off his wand. The song reached a crescendo and with a final wave of his wand, the flames were thrown into the air. There was a cry and a flash of flames, and then a Phoenix hovered in the air, its beady eyes pointed at Dumbledore.

"Fawkes, my old friend. Forgive me for calling for you after we decided to part ways… but there is something I require from you..." Dumbledore said then he aimed his wand at the firebird. Multicoloured sparks shot forth, hitting the creature before it could react. It kept hovering for a while, as if nothing had happened, but slowly the brilliant reds and yellows of the fiery plumage began to fade into grey. It flapped its wings once, twice, then fell towards the ground, landing in a shuddering heap.

Dumbledore approached the incapacitated creature, and as he did so, he slowly dragged out a silver knife from his robes. He stood before his old familiar, closed his eyes and sighed, his mouth moving in a silent apology. His eyes flashed open, blue and cold, with any regret vanishing the same instant. He crouched on one knee and plunged the knife deeply into the Phoenix's body.

It gave a surprised squawk, then it let out a low humming cry, sounding hauntingly similar to the spell Dumbledore had used moments ago. Dumbledore lowered the knife and dipped his finger into the wound, he let out a hiss, but gritted his teeth and drew strange symbols over his face and arms using the blood as paint. Every inch covered in red was steaming or smoking as he stood and turned his attention to Harry.

The sound of breathing grew heavier, as Dumbledore made his approach. Not from Harry, he was still silenced, but from the man standing behind him. Dumbledore stopped, a foot away and stared down at him, wand in one hand and the knife in the other. He gave a questioning look over Harry's shoulder.

"Allow me." the voice was closer than Harry had thought and he flinched when the knife was passed over to the man behind him. "It must be from the scar..."

A spell froze his head into place as the man came into view. He licked his lips and for a fraction of a second, Harry thought he saw a hint of a smile through the nervousness. One hand roughly pushed his fringe backwards, revealing his scar. The knife came quickly and slashed a thin line across his forehead. When he pulled it back, the bespectacled man nodded in satisfaction at the single bead of blood that was balancing on the tip of the knife. With his wand, he created a vial around it. He handed it to Dumbledore, who turned on the spot and stepped away, heading towards the centre of the clearing without a word.

Harry looked to where the old wizard was heading and he would have let out a gasp if he could. There was a stone altar, one that definitely hadn't been there before, with intricate runes carved into every inch of it that Harry could see. But it was what was on top of it that made Harry's heart thunder. There was a spotless white sheet covering something and Harry knew instinctively that what was underneath could only be a body. An absolutely still corpse.

Albus Dumbledore stood in front of it, allowing his hand to hover over the unmoving sheet without touching. He placed his wand with reverent care on top of it. Then he took out something else from his robes, a familiar little bottle. He twisted it in his hands and it crumbled to dust, leaving something tiny behind. A ring. Dumbledore placed it just as carefully next to the wand. Finally, he removed a folded cloak from his robes, Harry's invisibility cloak. It found its own place on top of the altar.

He stepped back, until he was standing about half way between Harry and the corpse. "I am ready to begin."

At the soft murmur of assent from the man, who had once against moved to stand behind Harry, Dumbledore produced another wand, Harry's wand, and slowly began another long incantation. As he did so, he began to move carefully and despite the limp, allowing one step after another in a perfect circle around the altar. Magic began to hum in the air. A chill ran over Harry's skin and a there was a heavy heat in his bones. He struggled uselessly against his bindings, and he tried to cry out, but all in vain.

"The line of the Peverells shall converge." the voice coming from behind Harry had lost all its uncertainly. There was a breathless excitement.

"The line of Antioch." and with these words a ghostly figure appeared besides the altar. Ghostly, but not a ghost. He looked solid and colourful, even though most of the colour was red. It was a tall man with a proud stance, his expression lost in the myriad of bruises and scars that littered his face, as well as the rest of his body. The most prominent, a savage gash across his throat. He looked like a man that had been through all the wars in human history. He looked as if all wars had been fought atop of him. "Of conquest, of bloodshed, of the endless battle. He who was felled by violence, the bones of Antioch are once more."

Either Dumbledore couldn't see what Harry was seeing, or he was ignoring it completely, since he didn't stop the incantation or his movements at the sight of the apparition. The shade slowly lowered his broken and blood-dripping hand and carefully picked up the wand. He examined it closely and then he smiled, a chilling and evil smile that made Harry shudder. Antioch Peverell cocked his head to the side as if he could hear the drumbeats of war, the call to impending battle. He raised the wand towards his face, touching the tip lightly against his forehead. And then he was gone. Harry blinked several times, it was as if the ghostly being had never been there at all. Only… the wand was no longer on the altar, above the enshrouded body.

"The line of Cadmus." another figure appeared. He was thin and pale. The only colours the black and blue beneath his eyes, like those of a man who hadn't slept in aeons, and the thick reddish purple line around his slightly stretched neck. With this apparition, there was no question about what had finally ended his life. His expression was blank and hollow, and somehow it was much more terrifying to see than the figure with the hundreds of open wounds. There was nothing in those eyes, looking into them was like standing at the precipice of the maw to an abyss. "Of despair, of sorrow, of the mourning everlasting. Walker of the path without hope, the flesh of Cadmus is once more."

The head lolled, as if he was being forced to lower his gaze. For a long time nothing seemed to happened, then all at once something flickered in those eyes. Harry didn't dare call it 'life' since it was far too terrible for that word. It was a greed, a longing, a terrible mania that saw only one thing. The ring. Trembling fingers gripped it with such care as if worried it may break. There was ecstasy and bliss on the face of Cadmus Peverell, a rapturous look of triumph as he raised the ring to his eyes. His shoulders shook, half laughing and half crying as he placed it on his finger, until he vanished like his brother.

Albus Dumbledore stopped his movements then, but continued his chant. He broke his circular path and limped towards the body. He appeared weaker now, shoulders sagging and his voice hoarse from the non-stop vocalisation. It wasn't just because of his injuries, Harry realised, this was powerful magic and it was taking its toll.

A barely audible giggle escaped from the heavy breathing behind him. "Oh, how long I have waited… I cannot wait any longer. I simply _cannot_. I am sure _he_ would not mind… if I… had… a little… taste..."

A surge of panic had Harry struggling uselessly as he felt something cold press up against his hands. A sharp prickle against his thumb had him flinching, then it moved to the next finger and then the next, down his right hand and up his left.

"Which one? Which one? Ahh… I think… it only appropriate… I take this one..." the voice hissed in Harry's ear and he felt an edge of a blade resting against his ring finger. "...considering all we shared..."

The sensation of cold steel was replaced by hot pain and a slick wetness that poured over his other fingers. He thrashed and cried out silently as the heat worsened to a burning, a sizzling, with the noise and smell soon reaching his other senses. The little whimpering noises of pleasure from behind him soon subsided. A hand grabbed his hair and pulled it back, so his sagging head was once more watching Dumbledore. "Witness, Harry Potter. You shall be a Witness..."

Dumbledore had finally reached the altar and he took out a vial of blood, Harry's blood, and allowed the single drop to fall, staining a single spot red. He pulled back while he continued the final part of the incantation.

"The line of Ignotus." Harry struggled to clear his vision from the haze of pain and the confusion that came along with it. He calmed slightly at what he saw. The man that appeared had a look of contentment on his face. Looking far older than the other two, he had his eyes closed in peace. That peace was shattered when he blinked awake with a grimace of pain. "Of the unknown, of acceptance, of the promised rest. Standing without fear before Death, the blood of Ignotus is once more."

He saw the last of the artefacts left behind, the Cloak of Invisibility, and he reached for it with great reluctance. He unfurled it and threw it around his back with a practised ease of one who had repeated the action several times before. His hand reached back and just as he was pulling the hood over his head, the eyes of Ignotus Peverell met with Harry's. There was a great sadness there, a look begging for forgiveness, before the hood came down and he vanished from view.

The earth hummed and the sky shuddered. There was death in the air.

Dumbledore fell to his knees with a wheezy gasp. The man behind him sprang forth and helped the old wizard to his feet. He dragged the barely conscious wizard back towards Harry, passing by the still and colourless Phoenix.

Harry gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, ignoring the throbbing pain in his hand exploding from the spot where his finger used to be. And he pushed out with all his strength. He could hear his raggedy breathing once more. "You… This is what you've been planning all along. Killing my parents to get the Cloak. Killing the Gaunts for the ring and killing who knows how many to get the wand. All to bring Grindelwald back to life."

"Grindelwald?" Albus shook off the man and turned to Harry with a snarl. "How many times must I repeat myself? He is dead and gone! Why do you and Riddle continue to obsess over a dead man? For the greater good, Potter, do you know what that means? It means as many as he was willing to kill, as dark a path we were both willing to take, either of us were willing to give our own lives if it was required. To cheat death in the manner Riddle is thinking of… it is a heinous act, one that neither Gellert nor I would ever consider. It is not a life, but merely a cursed existence..."

Harry shook his head angrily, "I saw what you just did. Don't tell me this wasn't a ritual to bring him back to life. To use the Wand and the Stone and the Cloak from Death to-"

"A fairy tale, Potter! A fairy tale!" Dumbledore laughed derisively and gave him a cool, condescending stare. "Powerful objects, dangerous objects certainly, but 'Death' had no hand in making those. But… I will not deny I am attempting to resurrect someone..."

Harry frowned, "Yes, you've been planning this for decades with Grinde-"

"I will not repeat myself again!" Dumbledore lashed out, striking Harry across the cheek with the back of his hand. "It was not… what we planned… I didn't think it possible… but… such astounding intelligence. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge, even without considering the possibility her work may have practical application. She truly was a Ravenclaw. A Ravenclaw who died far too soon… because of you, Potter!"

Harry felt the spittle wet his face as the old man raved, but he ignored it, "What? I don't understand..."

"I am not surprised Potter. You are a stupid, worthless little child. The world would be better off had you never been born..." Dumbledore seethed hatred towards the fifteen year old boy. "Family, Potter, family. That was and is my only motivation. For them I would do anything. Do you understand, you miserable little orphan? For them, I would give everything…"

"It is happening." a voice called. Dumbledore tried to turn but stumbled and fell onto the ground. This time, the man didn't come to help him. He had moved closer towards the altar during Dumbledore's tirade.

The air stilled. It was like watching a scene frozen in time. Harry's skin felt numb, a crackling silence in his ears. A sickly sweet scent turned into the taste of rot on his tongue and darkness swept over his eyes. It was as if eternal night had fell over the world. It might have been a second, it may have been hours, but when his vision cleared the scene was exactly the same. Apart from one thing.

The shroud covering the corpse shivered from little twitches and whispered breaths. A pause. Then a long exhale. A sound like rattling bones. The corpse rose.

Kendra Dumbledore blinked and turned to face them. The white cloth fell off of her, exposing her breasts but she seemed unconcerned. She simply looked down at herself, a slight frown on her face.

"Kendra? Kendra!" Albus cried, tears of joy falling down his cheeks.

She looked up, first at the other man and then Harry. Finally towards the old wizard calling her name. "Father?"

"Yes!" Albus Dumbledore sobbed. He tried to rise to his feet but crumbled back onto his knees. "I found your research after you… after you… The Hallows are real, my daughter! I gathered them and I preformed the ritual… The blood of an immortal creature, the blood of a mortal who survived death… and my own… together with the Deathly Hollows..."

"I… see..." Kendra Dumbledore said. She slowly flexed her hands and then her arms. She turned her body and lowered herself onto the grass, covering herself with the shroud like a cloak. She walked towards them. She glanced down as she passed the unmoving Phoenix, her expression unchanging, and continued her way.

"Did it work?" the man pushed his glasses up and asked sharply.

"Of course it did!" Dumbledore laughed from the ground. "Look at her! She is alive!"

She gave the man a smile and a tiny nod before standing in front of Albus, "Father."

"Yes. Yes. Kendra. You are back… Everything will be fine now..." he clutched at her offered hands and pulled himself onto his feet. "Everything will be fine..."

"Uncle." she said. Her smile widened slightly.

"I- yes… yes but, how-" his words were cut off when she leaned forwards and kissed him on the lips. His body froze, before he pushed her off, an appalled look of shock on his face. "K..K..Kendra… what… what are you-"

"Isn't this what you always wanted?" she paused, her grin like that of a skull. She licked her lips and opened her mouth. She let out a hiss that only Harry could understand, " _Is it not what you have wanted... friend..."_

She closed her eyes and threw her head back. She laughed as her skin peeled off into miniscule black feathers which were blown away by a non-existent wind. Her breasts shrunk into her body, her long sleek hair drew into her skull. From the single spot of red from where Harry's blood had fallen, the brilliant white of the shroud blackened. It spread and transformed into robes of midnight black, wrapping the body in the dark of a starless night.

The realisation hit Harry like a punch to the gut.

In the Chamber of Secrets and in the Forbidden Forest, the figure always shrouded in shadows, always with a disguised voice, _neither masculine or feminine and not quite human either_. Albus Dumbledore had been the one to force the Nullificare Charm onto Harry, but it was only during his summer before the fourth year that his nightmares of the old wizard had begun. Only after a certain Unspeakable had 'fixed' it. The nightmares and the letter, everything pointing to one wizard, it seemed an obvious answer. It _was_ the answer, but not a complete one.

 _Yes… Dumbledore controls the Zeugen. Dumbledore sees all…_ Pettigrew's words. Yes. It was a Dumbledore, but not the one they were thinking of. They should have considered one who worked in the Department of Mysteries, a place which held the most powerful and dangerous magic in the whole of the British Isles, perhaps even beyond. A place from where a whispered prophecy could come, and be believed. They should have considered someone who had been present at Hogwarts during the time the Chamber of Secrets first opened. Why had Harry never considered her age, or her parentage?

Harry saw Albus Dumbledore's face. It was one of confusion. Of shock. Of horror.

 _His power came from the subtle knife, planted in your back long before you realised it was there…_

Albus didn't know. He didn't know. He was just another unwitting pawn, used like Harry, like Tom Riddle, like everyone else. Used until he was drained and broken, used by someone who knew him well, who knew how far he was determined to go for family.

The laughter died down. The transformation complete. _He_ smiled at them.

"N..n..no…" Albus rasped. "I… don't unde- How…?"

"Hello Albus, old friend." Gellert Grindelwald, the King of Crows, said softly. He smiled like Death, "I have returned."

* * *

 **A/N**

Sorry for the long wait. Been going through some... things. I've finished the next chapter, but I'm not 100% sure about it. My beta hasn't been able to get back to me about it yet so... I don't know. Maybe I'll wait another week to see if he gets in touch? Or maybe just post it in a few days and get it over with? I don't know. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Apologies again for the long absence and thank you for your patience.


	56. Year 5 - Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

 **The Phoenix and the Crow**

"I-" Albus coughed harshly. The Phoenix blood on his face dried and flaking off into the air, leaving his skin grey and clammy. "Gellert… I don't… how…? Kendra? Where is Kendra?"

"Oh Albus..." Grindelwald shook his head with a quiet smile. He didn't look a day older than in the photograph Harry had seen only hours before. The King of Crows opened his arms wide, a look of mock innocence on his face. "You are an intelligent man, it cannot be that difficult for you to understand."

"I… I..." Albus swayed and fell onto his knees.

Grindelwald smiled down at the dying man and turned his head towards Harry. "Do you understand, Harry Potter? Or are you just as ignorant as my old friend?"

Harry clenched his jaw to stop the clattering of his teeth. "Kendra… she was the daughter of Ariana… and a Gaunt. A descendant of Cadmus Peverell. You didn't kill them all, you left one alive that day."

"A clever one, aren't you!" Grindelwald gave him an indulgent smile and clapped his hands in delight. "I have to say, I was disappointed when Ariana gave birth to a girl, not that it changed any of my plans, but it did end up becoming the perfect disguise. Who would ever suspect the studious little Ravenclaw, the _daughter_ of war hero Albus Dumbledore..."

He stepped forwards until he stood in front of Harry. Fingers reached out and touched the boy's cheek almost in a caress. He shook his head wildly and lashed out with a bite, not caring if he looked like a rabid dog. Grindelwald pulled away from it with an unconcerned chuckle. Harry tried to remember the words the man who had stood behind him had said. "Ignotus, he was my ancestor, the one who created the Cloak of Invisibility and Antioch..."

"My blood, yes. The first owner of the Elder Wand. I am surprised that a mere child knows- Unless..." Grindelwald turned towards the bespectacled man, who was on one knee, head bowed in reverence. "You were always a very talkative one, weren't you Tristia?"

"Forgive me, Krähenkönig, his ignorance was painful to watch." the man murmured.

"No matter. No matter." Grindelwald laughed. Then he reached out behind Harry and gave his hand a tight squeeze, the one which was missing a finger. Harry screamed. "And I see you have already taken your little token..."

The man called Tristia tensed. "Forgive me, I-"

"I do not begrudge you a little bit of fun." Tristia relaxed visibly at the light tone in his master's voice. "I promised it to you a long time ago. And I know you have had to wait longer than we originally thought, thanks to Riddle's interference."

"You… Kendra… you meant for yourself to die that day." Harry said through gritted teeth. "The Headmaster ruined your plans by saving her life."

A brief flash of annoyance swept over Grindewald's features before he let out another carefree laugh. "For a moment I _had_ thought all was ruined, but no. Everything was moving forwards, it just happened a little slower."

"H..how could you." Dumbledore rasped. "Betray me… like this..."

"All for the greater good, Albus? Do you not remember what we discussed, about how sacrifices were necessary? How we would have to kill for our goals… and how either of us would die for what we believed in..." Grindelwald closed his eyes in reminiscence. They snapped opened to show his ink black orbs. "And I truly believe in my immortality."

"But Kendra… Kendra… she was… family…" Dumbledore still looked confused, disbelieving everything that was happening in front of him. "How could you use her-"

"I don't think you understand, dear friend..." Grindelwald grinned maliciously. His eyes turning a pale shade of blue again. "I did not _use_ her, I _was_ her. Here… let me show you..."

Dumbledore whimpered and made to move away, but he was too weak. Grindelwald strode over casually, taking the wand that Tristia offered him. He used it to trace a line across his temple, drawing out thin silver strands. Dumbledore was shaking his head, begging him not to, but the man who betrayed him took no notice. He made a sharp motion with the wand, almost as if he was stabbing Dumbledore in the head.

"What-" Dumbledore's face went slack, his eyelids trembling rapidly as if he was dreaming. Harry saw the exact moment Albus Dumbledore broke. He heard it. The old man's skin turned grey as he let out a wail of anguish. It was the worst noise that Harry had ever heard. "You… you..."

Grindelwald turned dismissively, his face completely lacking concern for the man sobbing into the ground. "Tristia."

"Krähenkönig?" the man stood to attention.

"How long will it take for you to..." he gave Harry a cold smile, "…work your magic on Harry?"

Tristia grinned a tooth filled smile. He reached inside the neck of his robes and took out a beaded necklace. He rubbed it between his fingers, humming with quiet pleasure, before he mouthed something Harry couldn't hear. Starting with the one he was holding, every single bead slowly transformed into a severed finger. It was a horrible sight, watching the man go though each of them, giving the fingertips a caress. "I think a few hours should be enough, to finish the work I started last year. Ah… yes… I think this would be best..."

He paused when he came across a slender digit. Harry's breathing quickened. He knew what was coming. The man called Tristia closed his eyes and rubbed the nail, pinched the fingertip and flexed each of the joints. He transformed.

"Corinne..." escaped the moan from Harry's lips.

"Hello again, Harry." as she took the glasses off from her face, the look she gave him was such a foreign one. No love. No affection. It was a sly smile of a fox in the hen house.

"You're a Metamorphmagus." Harry said in realisation.

"Correct again." Grindelwald reached out and tucked a strand of long hair over her ears. The… thing… with Corinne's face purred with pleasure. "I've said it before and I shall say it again, this look suits you, my dear."

She giggled, _giggled_ , and leaned in to his touch. Her expression was one of blissful pleasure, a crazed carefree look. The look of a fanatic. "Thank you Krähenkönig..."

"Can you guess then, Harry, what we have in store for you?" Grindelwald asked, but Harry couldn't answer. His mouth was dry and his chest heaved as he stared at the girl standing in front of him. "No? Well Harry, in a few hours _a_ Harry Potter will make a miraculous escape from the dastardly Albus Dumbledore and the world will celebrate-"

"They'll never fall for it. Professor Riddle will know it's not me." Harry spat out, forcing his gaze away from Corinne.

"Riddle? Who danced to my tune when I whispered a few words about a little prophecy?" he replied mockingly. "Oh, he is very clever, and powerful. When I stood in his office, as Kendra Dumbledore, he was _almost_ able to break through my Occlumentic barriers. Almost. Even when I stood a few feet away from him, the enemy he had faced in the Chamber of Secrets, the enemy he had faced in the dark forest of Hogwarts' grounds, the enemy he had faced countless times before in battle, he was never able to divine my true identity. And even though Tristia is not as adept in Occlumency as I am, she has her own set of skills that will be enough to trick Tom Riddle..."

At the nod from her master, Tristia stepped in front of Harry and produced a wand. She licked her lips, "It wasn't easy to do this without you suspecting, even when you were so eager to open up to me. Now that there is no need for discretion… _Legilimens!_ "

Harry closed his eyes shut a second too late and felt her magic worm its way into his brain. It was slimy and unpleasant, but somehow compared to what he had endured under Snape's lessons, it felt weak and inept. His mind raced back to all those evenings, the weekly torture sessions under the Slytherin head of house and he pushed. Her mind snapped back from his. It was a tiny victory given the situation he was in, but he managed to bare his teeth in a grin at her snarling face. "I'm not going to make it easy for you, _Corinne_."

"It appears, Krähenkönig, that the boy has managed to harness the powers of the shields you have placed on him through the bottle." Tristia sent a worried glance at Grindelwald.

"Are you telling me you cannot do it?" the ever present smile slipped slightly as Grindelwald asked in a quiet voice.

"No! No! I can!" Tristia exclaimed hurriedly. "It may just take a little more time than I had originally thought… I swear, Krähenkönig, by the time the sun sets I will have scraped through every thought in his mind. His loves, his hates, his earliest memories and his deepest desires for the future, I will have them all!"

Grindelwald nodded, "You have already done so much for me, Tristia. Do not disappoint me now..."

With these words, his eyes went completely black as he gazed towards the sky and in response so did one of Tristia's eyes. She gasped in pain and her hands darted upwards as if to cover her eye, but she froze before she could reach it as if forcing herself not to touch her own face. It bulged and trembled, shifting side to side and up and down before the eye finally pointed itself at Harry. Grindelwald grinned at the look of disgust on Harry's face, looking through the eye of his follower as he turned and walked away from them.

She let out a shaky breath as her eye returned to normal and she glared at Harry, as if all the pain she had just suffered was his fault. "How long do you think you can last, Potter? You are alone without friends, no one knows where you are, no one will come rescue you. Give up and it will be a lot less painful for you..."

"Never." Harry hissed defiantly through his teeth.

"So be it." she raised the wand again and her lips curled into a cruel smile. " _Crucio_."

By the time the pain stopped, Harry was babbling incoherent words out of his mouth through his raw throat which was hoarse from screaming. He blinked the haze away, expecting to see Corinne's smirking face, but he saw someone's back. A rumple-robed, shaky back filling his line of sight.

"Albus!" Grindelwald said with mock delight as he faced his old friend. "Good to see you back on your feet."

Harry turned his head slightly, to find that Corinne had been thrown some distance and was on her back, clutching at her arm. She had an ugly snarl on her face as she glared at Albus Dumbledore. The old wizard was holding a wand, an eleven and a half inch cypress wand with a unicorn hair core, and was pointing it at Grindelwald with a trembling hand. "I will kill you if it's the last thing I do."

"I have no doubt that what you do in the next few minutes will be the last thing you do, old friend." Grindelwald looked completely unconcerned at the wand being aimed at him. He even went as far as waving Tristia away, when she jumped to her feet and pointed her own wand at Dumbledore. "But I really do not think that it will result in my death."

Grindelwald had his arms open in invitation, leaving his body completely open for attack. Dumbledore breathed heavily for a few seconds and then limped forwards. His arm jerked from side to side, involuntary spasms of a man close to death. He stopped about half way across and struggled to aim his weapon. He bellowed, " _Avada Kedavra!_ "

Even as the spell flashed through the air, Grindelwald didn't make a move to avoid it or counter it will his own magic. He simple raised an empty hand, and allowed the spell to touch his palm. He winced slightly, but other than that he gave no other reaction. He certainly wasn't dead, but he wiped a small trickle of blood dripping from his nose with the back of his hand. "Is that your best, Albus? A pitiful performance, from the man who is supposed to be the most powerful wizard in Europe..."

Albus' response was a wheezy gasp and a fit of coughs that Harry thought would be the last noises the man would make. "I- will… kil-"

Grindelwald raised his wand lazily. "My turn, Albus."

And he gave a thoughtless flick of his wand. There was no bright flash of light, no fire or ice. Dumbledore simply clutched at his throat as he made a gurgling noise, his blood flowing between his fingers and down his front. He swayed slightly before collapsing on the ground.

"Forgive me Krähenkönig-"

"No apologies. No excuses. Albus will trouble us no more, just get on with it Tristia." Grindelwald said impatiently. He turned his gaze towards the sky. "I must know how everything else is progressing. Come to me-"

" _Crucio_." the spell caught Harry by surprise, but it wasn't any more or less painful than before, just constant and absolute. When he curse stopped, his eyes were forced open and once again there was a mind that wasn't his own, trying to delve into his memories. The pain was almost enough to make him want to give up, the pain that had just passed and the pain that would undoubtedly come again. But he had to hold out as long as possible, Professor Riddle would find a way to get here. And if not… he was going to make them work for every single thing they got out of him.

Rustle of dead leaves on the ground. Smell of damp nature and the taste of sweet rot. The numb pain of his hands dragging through earth and stone. The slight of pale flesh stained by dirt, the horrible non-expression that stared back at him.

Tristia screeched in fury as she was thrown out of his mind once more. Harry breathed heavily as he replayed the memory of that day over and over again. For once, he was thankful that the monster in front of him had chosen to take Corinne's form, it made the memory clearer, staring at the face in front of him brought back flashes of the pale dead thing he had discovered buried in the forest.

"We all knew there was someone out there, killing people and assuming their forms." Harry managed to let out between deep breaths. "He'll know the moment you stand in front of him. Grindelwald might have been able to trick him, but not you. However much you manage to drag out of me, it won't be good enough."

Tristia growled in reply and sent another wave of prolonged torture at the fifteen year old boy. Even as he screamed, he repeated the Occlmency exercise in his head, like a prayer of the senses rather than words, and it became stronger with each repetition. Corinne Lansquenet was a girl he had never known, a girl who had never known him. She was someone who was already dead when she came into Harry's life, but even beyond the veil of death she was helping him, just as she helped Harry to uncover her body all those months ago.

The Metamorphmagus took a step back, cocked her head at him and licked her lips. "Perhaps this wasn't the ideal form for this situation..."

Harry watched through gritted teeth as she reached inside her robes and pulled out a bloodied finger. She waved it at Harry mockingly, before closing her eyes and running a finger up and down it. It was a sight Harry had seen a few times before from Tonks, but it was different, more hesitant and careful. Hair drew in and eyes fluttered, one opening wide to reveal a brilliant green. It was like looking into a warped mirror, something that was like Harry but subtly different in a way that no one seeing it would mistake it for him. Then Harry remembered what Tonks had done on the day of the broom race. She had transformed herself with messy black hair and a scar more prominent than his own, in order to draw attention away from himself.

"Is this what you did with the real Corinne Lansquenet?" Harry asked in an attempt to distract her from the transformation process. It felt strange to look at her, caught in a moment somewhere between Corinne and Harry, a Harry with a narrower face and slightly more feminine features.

"I- I- I-" she made three attempts, each followed by a light tap on her throat. Each time it came out with a subtle shift in tone. She smiled widely and spoke in a voice alarmingly like his own, "I did do that Harry. I tied her up and I tortured her. I told her I would let her go and would let her parents live if she opened up to me, if she told me all I needed to know. With these abilities, it's so very easy to look like anyone, but at the same time very difficult to look like _someone_ , do you understand? Some might say it is pointless given the relative ease with which Polyjuice potion can be brewed or acquired, but it is an almost absolute disguise when I get it just right. No time limit, no way to un-transfigure it unless I will it so. And then the memories... No point in running around looking like someone if everyone sees through the disguise the moment I open my mouth."

She cringed and mumbled to herself. She cocked her head and her skin bubbled, like there were worms crawling over her skull. She worked her jaw and rolled her shoulders, her piercing green gaze never leaving Harry's eyes.

"...nothing, you look nothing like me." Harry managed to spit out, but as each second passed he felt less confident in his words.

Tristia reached out with _his_ finger and placed it over the lightning bolt shaped scar on Harry's forehead. Harry gritted his teeth when the nail dug in and slowly started tracing the shape of the mark of the Killing Curse, and at the exact same time the same shape appeared on the forehead of the person standing opposite him. He looked like the figure that appeared in his nightmares after he discovered the 'prophecy', he looked like the Boggart that Professor Riddle saw, something one of the greatest wizards Harry knew feared more than everything else.

"I think I look… something like you." the not-Harry said with a cold smile. He waved Harry's severed finger in front of him mockingly, before taking out the necklace of his trophies. With a whispered incantation and a slight flick of his wand, he threaded it along with the other fingers. "Almost… Almost… Just a little bit more..."

There was a moment of distraction when there was a loud pop behind them. Any hope that Harry felt at the unmistakable noise of Apparition immediately died away when he saw the figure standing in front of Grindelwald. "Saiblinge..."

The Metamorphmagus looked at the new arrival and turned back to Harry with a grin. "You've done well to find out that name, even though it is not his true name. I am the only of the Witnesses to have that knowledge..."

Harry watched as the man he knew as Saiblinge fell to his knees, clutching at the robes beneath Grindelwald's feet. He was weeping openly, his face an earnest expression of awe, almost childlike despite looking several times the age of the man he kneeled before, as he sobbed words that Harry couldn't hear. He closed his eyes for a moment, mentally shaking himself, before forcing himself to look away. He watched as his almost-mirror-image walked away from him and towards the other two figures.

He tugged experimentally at his bindings, but they were no more looser than before. He muttered the key-phrase that would trigger the Portkey, but he already knew he no longer had it on him. Dumbledore would have removed it soon after arriving here. Harry glanced down at the prone figure and froze. He stiffly turned his head slightly, so that anyone looking in his direction wouldn't notice him looking at the old wizard, who was twitching slightly.

One of his hands was still clutching at the gash around his throat, as his barely open eyes trembled and his mouth spoke words unheard. His other hand, still clutching Harry's wand, was inching its way towards… Fawkes.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment in silent prayer, hoping that Dumbledore was actually aware of his actions and not moving unconsciously in his last death throes. The wand finally reached the Phoenix and gave the faintest of glows. Harry held his breath, but none of the bright plumage returned and the creature remained absolutely still. He almost let out a sob when he saw Dumbledore's grip loosen and drop the wand. Harry's heart started racing again when he saw the old man's trembling hand reach out again. It tightened into a fist before giving a jerk.

Harry couldn't stop himself from openly staring at the single feather, shining golden and fiery reds, clutched between the thin wrinkled fingers. It didn't lose any of its brilliance even as it was dragged through the dirt and the blood until it was directly in front of Dumbledore's face. Their eyes met, Albus Dumbledore's and Harry Potter's, and for once there was no deception, no animosity. Dumbledore blinked a couple of times, his eyes turning milky white, then starting to look like they were melting. He brushed the viscous liquid off of his cheeks with the tip of the feather, whispering something over and over again. Then he gripped both the feather and Harry's wand tightly and faced Harry once more. When Dumbledore gave a jerky nod, his eyes telling Harry to be prepared, The feather and the wand disappeared in a flash of fire from his palms, and Harry immediately felt a sudden heat between his own. He instinctively wrapped his fingers around the smooth wood.

Harry clamped down his jaw, biting his lips to stop himself from crying out in pain. But even as he managed to succeed in not making any noise, the sudden light caused notice from the three standing some distance apart.

"Albus! Still alive?" Grindelwald sounded both amused and irritated. "What _are_ you up to?"

Harry kept an awkward grip on the middle of the wand while trying to manipulate it so he could aim the tip against the ropes around his wrist. He almost ruined any chance of escape when he felt something crawl over his hand and almost dropped his wand. He turned an accusatory glare at Dumbledore, but the old man wasn't even looking at Harry any more. He had raised his head and was struggling to stand up, his baleful glare only directed at Grindelwald.

He bit back a gasp of shock when he felt a sharp pain, like something was trying to burrow into the palm of his hand. The pain disappeared quickly, but then he felt the same sensation. Now the thing, whatever it was, was slowly moving up his arm.

"Gel- Grindelwald." Dumbledore spat as he rose to face his betrayer. At a slight motion from the King of Crows, Tristia moved in a wide circle back towards Harry. Dumbledore watched Harry's mirror image move around him, back to where the real Harry was being held. Their eyes met once more and when Harry gave a look of determination, Dumbledore gave a slight shake of his head. He turned back to face Grindelwald, "You will… not… get away… with this..."

Harry gave an unconscious jerk when he felt something tickle up his neck, then up his face. Harry looked down and from the corner of his vision, he could see something silver and tiny make its way closer and closer to his eye.

"I certainly applaud your persistence. I did not expect you to even live minutes past the ritual, to see you still standing now..." Grindelwald smiled. He gave Dumbledore a considering look. "You may think a fool of me for asking but… There is still a chance you can survive all this… Swear you will work with me, make an oath and I will do my best to save you. You truly are one of a kind, it really would be a loss for the world to lose you."

Harry tilted his head back. He was unsure of what was to come, but he didn't want the others to catch sight of what was happening. It was underneath his eye now and Harry took in a deep breath. As the spell burrowed into his eye, he let out a muffled grunt as he was assaulted by images and sounds that weren't his.

Harry was dragged back into the present by a harshly croaked out laugh. "It is indeed foolish if you think-"

"What did you do?" the voice came from directly in front of him, but Harry had to blink several times before he could focus.

"Tristia. Corinne. Harry." Harry greeted with a laugh and dropped his head, trying to avoid the Metamorphmagus' eyes without appearing to obviously be doing so. But his hair was grabbed and pulled back, green eyes met green eyes and with a softly spoken spell he was trying to fight the intruder in his mind again.

He felt weak. Tired. His various injuries were throbbing and Dumbledore's help hadn't improved matters. It was difficult to concentrate on anything else, other than Albus Dumbledore's final words.

Words telling Harry that he would help him escape and how he intended to do so. Teaching him in brief words and images what one can do when someone tries to preform Legilimency on you. How when someone is trying to pull open the door, a strong push of everything can harm the person standing on the other side, maybe even permanently damage the mental image of the victim in the person's mind. And finally words of profound apology, of a century's worth of regret. Of how he hoped his last actions might count for something.

Harry didn't have an answer for the old wizard but he listened. And so did the Metamorphmagus. He held back for as long as he dared and then he gave the intruder everything he wanted and more.

" _Diffindo!"_ Harry cried out hoping for the best and he roared in triumph when he felt the ropes go slack. He stared past the images of his life flickering through his mind and looked into the face in front of him, one full of surprise, confusion and more than a little pain. Harry stared at the green eyes, the scar on the forehead and he raged. He would never allow someone to walk around with his face. He contorted the image in his mind, imagined the eyes with a dull glaze, the scar a fresh and bloodied wound. He imagined the face, his own face, scorched black and raw and brought his wand forth, " _Confringo!"_

He ignored the unsettling feeling of watching himself writhe in pain with hands covering the disfigured face. Harry quickly stepped around and made a run towards the dead Phoenix.

"No!" his path was blocked by the snarling Saiblinge, who had somehow made his way pass Dumbledore. With a quick look he took in the fierce duel that was happening between the two former friends, one that would not last for much longer. Dumbledore had promised him seconds and beyond that there wouldn't be another chance for Harry to escape his captors.

Harry quickly cried out a spell, summoning forth another explosion of flames. He turned quickly, knowing he needed to make his escape. But before he could take two steps, he smelt the wrongness and spun around in an instant, " _Protego!_ "

The hand that was inches from Harry's face was knocked back and Saiblinge stumbled, his body twisting with the motion. Harry saw something glint. The raggedy wizard jumped for Harry again, "Little boy, you think you can best me in fire? I was born in fire and death! I am the Crowking's most loyal follower! I am-"

His eyes widened in surprise when Harry quickly closed the distance between them, his wand flicking and conjuring another magical shield, this time with a clear intention to use it as a battering ram. " _Cruci-_ " Harry slammed into him before the incantation could be completed. He didn't back down but reached out and grabbed the object dangling from the other man's neck.

"You're a Squib." Harry muttered in realisation as he felt the sickening power pulse up his arm.

"I am no _Squib_!" he snarled as he swung at Harry.

Harry dodged the blow by dropping to the ground, then he aimed his wand and cried, " _Immobulus!"_

Harry felt a pulse and his face mirrored the look of surprise on Saiblinge's. For a precious few seconds, Harry felt himself frozen and completely unable to move. He felt feeling return to his limbs in the exact same moment that the other wizard began to move. Face to face with a wand, he tightened his grip on the horrible bottle and bellowed out, " _Serpensortia legionis!_ "

The resulting explosion blew him away. Literally. The force of dozens of serpents suddenly emerging from the tip of his wand threw him back. He winced at the confused and very loud hissing of what must have been at least a hundred snakes surrounding him. Harry quickly hissed out a sharp, " _Get him!_ " as he pointed at the startled looking wizard, then he looked around, trying to locate his way out of his place.

He found what he was looking for.

Harry lunged forwards, hands reaching out for the single shining feather sticking out of the dead grey Phoenix. He plucked it out without hesitation, then dragged the hand over the ground towards the Portkey that Dumbledore had left behind. When he looked up, his eyes met with Grindelwald's, who was standing over Albus Dumbledore's body. There was a simmering rage in those eyes, but a look of amusement quickly took over. A confidence that said that even if Harry escaped, taking everything to Professor Riddle and the others, they could not stop the coming tides of war.

"Take me home." Harry whispered as he squeezed the two objects in his hand tightly together.

Fire. Light. An unbearable tightness. Then Harry felt the coolness of stone and a clamouring of voices he couldn't decipher. He looked around, taking some time to understand where he was at.

"Contact Professor Riddle." Harry said roughly when he recognised a face. "I need to speak to him right away."

The portrait stared back at him, slack jawed for a moment before reacting. "I… right. I shall do that."

Harry nodded as Phineas Nigellus Black disappeared through the side of the portrait. He ignored the rest of the comments and questions being thrown his way, he ignored his pain and looked around the Headmaster's office, searching for something he hoped would be here.

When he found it he placed it atop the desk and stared at it. He brought up his left hand, looking and cringing away at the sight of mutilation for the first time. He tried to ignore the space where a finger should have been and stared at the palm, where a tear shaped spot occupied the centre of his hand, looking like a strange birthmark of some sort.

The door crashed open as his hand hovered over the Pensieve, squeezed into a fist and dripping a trail of silver liquid into the stone basin. Harry looked over his shoulder, "Albus Dumbledore is dead. Grindelwald has been resurrected. This will explain everything… just watch this before asking anything..."

Tom Riddle looked over Harry's state, taking in everything. He saw the extent of his injuries and the greyish green face of a boy who needed healing and rest above all else. But he also recognised the determination and strength that kept him on his feet. He looked at the Pensieve and nodded. He swallowed his words and approached his desk. A second later the two were swimming through decades worth of memories, through lies, murders and betrayal, from a single choice and all the choices that came afterwards that started a war once before and would start one again.

 **End of Year 5**

* * *

"Get back inside! Everyone back inside, _now!_ " Headmistress Edda of Durmstrang Institute screeched to all her students, then again and again in half a dozen other languages. While a handful of the students, mostly the younger ones, listened and started marching back towards the keep, the vast majority remained staring transfixed at the sky, at the terrible sight and sounds that no one could ignore.

She let out a frantic growl before raising her wand belching out gouts of thick black smoke. But it wasn't enough. Every single boy, girl, all the staff and anyone else that happen to be visiting saw Gellert Gindelwald's rebirth and perhaps worse than that, they saw Albus Dumbledore's role in it. Then came the monstrous acts that he had a hand in for decades.

This might have been some sort of sick and elaborate hoax, but somehow Edda felt in her bones that it was not. There were little clues in what she was seeing, to what she was hearing, that connected with what she remembered from the past. But why? Why bother showing this to students? This sort of thing would be far more damaging if...

She paled and hurried back to the castle, throwing the main doors open with a forceful push of her wand. She had to get to her office, contact-

"Hello, Elli. It has been a while." the voice froze her blood and she stumbled to a halt. There was a figure with his back turned to her, staring up at the statue of the founder of Durmstrang that crowded the entrance hall.

"Y..y..you..." Edda clutched her wand tightly but felt too shocked to do much more. "So… so… it is true. The vision in the sky?"

"Vulchanova..." Grindelwald said quietly, ignoring her question. "A talented witch, no point denying it, but far too soft… This school only began its first steps into greatness when Munter took over. Now _he_ was a brilliant wizard."

"He was a murderer." Edda said firmly, resolve slowly creeping back into her stiff body.

"Nothing was ever proven." Grindelwald laughed. "He was never linked to his predecessor's death. The only thing that history tells us is that once he took over, people started respecting the name of Durmstrang, they began to fear it. It is such a shame that you have turned your back on his ways."

"And who's fault is that?" Edda shook her head in disgust. "After everything you have done… What was once known as a great place of learning, was reduced to the school where children were sent to be tainted. They no longer came from all corners of Europe for the chance to be taught by the greatest, they shunned us as the school that birthed the monster Grindelwald."

"A monster..." Grindelwald chuckled and slowly turned to face the Headmistress. She let out a gasp at his face, looking barely older than when she had seen him being escorted out of the school grounds after being expelled. "Yes, perhaps. And the monster returns home..."

"The monster returns to die!" Edda roared and whipped her wand at the King of Crows. He remained still with a fixed smile on his face, " _Avada K-_ "

" _Expelliarmus!"_ the wand was jerked out of her hand before she could complete the incantation. It arced through the air and melted into the shadow cast by the statue. A figure stepped out spinning her wand in his hand. He gave a mocking bow towards her. "Headmistress."

"What is the meaning of this Karkaroff?" but even though she asked the question, she already understood. Dread pooled in the pit of her stomach. "You… you are one of his? You have always been one of his?"

"Of course, Headmistress." his sickly grin showed yellowed teeth.

"So, now you kill me and have Karkaroff take over? Just like Munter did?" Edda breathed heavily. "Hide in the shadows and slowly corrupt our children?"

"Hide?" Grindelwald laughed loudly, shaking his head. "No. The time for hiding is over. Now is the time for action, now is the time when all I have planned comes together. My army will gather under my banner..."

Grindelwald turned and waved his hand at the statue, which cracked and crumbled to dust. He then flicked his fingers at the cloth banner with the emblem of Durmstrang Institute, a two headed eagle. The gold melted off like shining blood and hissed as it dripped onto the cold stone. The feathers darkened and a third head sprouted from the neck of the creature.

He nodded and gave a small noise of satisfaction. "...and then we march into battle. No wizards, no witches will stand against us and Muggles will cry in terror before us. I bring war, all for the greater good, for now... is the time of wizarding supremacy!"

* * *

 **A/N**

Sorry again for the long wait. It was absolutely not my beta's fault. He got in touch with me a few days after I posted my last chapter and it took me a while to find the time to go through the chapter again with his feedback. Lord Shasta, thanks for the help you've given my for Year 5 of my story.

So once again, it's the end of a year and therefore time for me to hibernate for a while and try to churn out a few chapters before I start updating again. I can give no indication whatsoever as to when this will be, I'm sorry about that. Thank you to everyone who's stuck with my story so far and thank you for everyone who left a review. Hope you're enjoying the story so far.

Bye for now.


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